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FURNITURE 

FOR THE HOME 



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FORREST LOMAN OILAR 





Class Tt ML 

Book. ,(Qj 5 

Copyright^ 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



HOW TO BUY 



FURNITURE 



FOR THE HOME 



By 
FORREST LOMAN OILAR 



Ea 



PUBLISHED BY 

OILAR BROTHERS 

INDIANAPOLIS 






Copyright, 1913 






BY 
FORREST LOMAN OILAR 



THE HOLLENBECK PRESS 
INDIANAPOLIS 



©CU347931 



DEDICATED 

TO THE 

FOUNDATION OF A PROGRESSIVE NATION 

THE HOME 



PROEM 

Furniture is one of the chief requisites in our lives, 
promoting, as it does, health and happiness. Few 
have wealth, but all must have a home. Do we realize 
what a factor the furnishing of a home is, in the scheme 
of modern civilization ? We have as much a duty in ed- 
ucating the home-maker in the selection of furniture as 
in preaching civic beauty. To create harmony in a 
home is to raise the average of culture and intelligence. 

The home life is influenced by its furnishing, and in 
the home the nation is moulded. 

Without pleasant surroundings the child will seek 
outside amusements, thence the street corners and the 
attractive and well-furnished saloons. If one desires a 
well-furnished house, one should make house furnish- 
ing a study. Homes are brought up to the standard in 
ratio to the study which is put upon them, it being im- 
possible to build higher than one's ideals. 

The writer has been associated with the home-fur- 
nishing business all of his business life, from clerk 
to buyer, and then manager of one of the largest con- 
cerns in house-furnishings. He has kept in touch 
with the furniture markets by visiting them semi- 
annually for many years, as well as familiarizing him- 
self daily with the demands and needs of the consumer, 
and has been closely affiliated with the State and Na- 
tional Furniture Association work. Such intimate, in- 

v 



vi PROEM 

side connection with the house-furnishing business has 
convinced the writer that the average purchaser 
lacks so much in preparation and experience that he is 
prone to make purchases which are not, in the long run, 
satisfactory. He falls an easy prey to the unscrupulous 
dealer and incompetent clerk. He also fails to consider 
that house furnishings are things with which he lives 
every day, that they should be selected with critical 
care, and chosen so that they may become dearer with 
each year's association, and of a quality to be handed 
from generation to generation with increasing pride 
and love. 

Thousands of people each year are duped into buy- 
ing poorly constructed, unattractive and unserviceable 
home furnishings, and not until they experience their 
second or third purchasing trip do they learn to econo- 
mize by buying quality goods. 

There are many books on the market which give 
a great deal of information about certain essentials in 
furnishing the home, but there seems to be lacking, in 
most of these works, the specific directions which one 
needs in selecting the furnishings which have the com- 
bined qualities of attractiveness and service. Many 
books relative to period furniture may be had, and 
though period furniture is growing rapidly in demand, 
the average layman does not care so much about the 
style of furniture which was used centeries ago, and lit- 
tle does he consider the value of modern furniture. 
Numerous manufacturers of various kinds of commod- 
ities place practical and instructive matter in the hands 



PROEM vii 

of those inquiring, but that matter, as instructive as it 
usually is, naturally favors the particular line desig- 
nated. 

There are just as many points to be considered and 
looked for in buying an inexpensive rocking chair as in 
selecting a period suite which must carry with it carv- 
ings and other lines which were in vogue at the time 
of its conception. 

Lack of knowledge in selecting home furnishings is 
false economy. A poor selection usually results, in 
time, in a better and wiser purchase, and a knowledge 
of how to select carefully and wisely at first will prove 
a great saving. 

People of today live too fast and usually do not take 
time enough in studying and selecting furnishings for 
their house — furnishings that must last perhaps a life- 
time. Owing to the carelessness of some purchasers, 
complete outfits have been sold in a very few minutes. 
It takes time to go through a large stock and make 
comparisons and the best selections. If time is limited, 
it is policy to wait until one can use the required time 
for this very important work. 

The purpose of this book, therefore, is to qualify 
the house furnisher to discriminate between worth-the- 
money goods and shoddy or poorly constructed articles, 
which are calculated to deceive the novice ; to make him 
an independent judge of qualities; to tell why and 
how ; to place the experience of years at his command 
and enable him, while freely exercising his individual 
taste, to buy knowingly and make the spending of his 



viii PROEM 

house furnishing appropriation yield an asset instead 
of an expense. 

For courtesies shown in supplying special informa- 
tion which has helped to make this book more prac- 
tical, grateful indebtedness is due to the fol- 
lowing manufacturers, trade journals, and periodicals: 
Heywood Brothers and Wakefield Co., Chas. P. Lim- 
bert Co., Stickley Bros. Co., Gustave Stickley, Sim- 
mons Manufacturing Co., Kimball and Chappell Co., 
Karpen Bros., Century Furniture Co., Grand Rapids 
Furniture Record, Carpet and Upholstery Trade Re- 
view, Furniture Retailer and House Furnisher, and 
Veneers. 

The Author. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER I 

Page 

Introduction 1 

High cost of living. 

Education is important. 

A little advice to beginners. 

To buy wisely is to buy economically. 

Production and distribution. 

The middleman "The Distributor". 

A word about the cost of furniture-making. 

Furniture profits are not enormous. 

Patronize reputable dealers. 

American-made furniture is universal. 

Home buying versus mail-order buying. 

Freight, damages, etc. 

Think twice before buying on the installment plan. 

A kindly word of warning. 

Trading" stamp, premium and gift schemes. 

Dishonest buyers harm honest buyers and honest 

merchants. 
Eliminating and discriminating. 
Leaders or specials. 

Terms should be a secondary consideration. 
Better to buy where acquainted. 

CHAPTER II 

Woods .- : • • ; 20 

Printed imitation called "American oak . 

How to detect it. 

Plain oak. 

Veneered versus solid woods. 

Glue • 28 

Effect of Dry Air on Furniture 28 

ix 



x CONTENTS 

CHAPTER III 

Page 

Rattan, Reed, Willow, Fibre, Rush Furniture 29 

CHAPTER IV 

Leathers 32 

Currying and buffing. 
The treatment of splits. 
The reproduction of effects. 
How leather is "boarded". 
Spanish leather. 
How modern Morocco is made. 
Cordovan and Russian leather. 
Leather will crack. 
Imitation leathers. 

Furniture Coverings 42 

CHAPTER V 

Period Furniture 43 

Study kindles desire. 

English furniture predominates. 

Chronological arrangement of period furni- 
ture. 
Classic period. 
Gothic period. 

Fifteenth Century Renaissance. 
Elizabethan, Jacobean, and Tudor periods. 

Elizabethan. 

Jacobean. 

Cromwellian. 
Queen Anne period. 
Chippendale period. 
Hepplewhite period. 
Adam period. 
Sheraton period. 
Louis XIV period. 
Louis XV period. 
Louis XVI period. 
First Empire period. 
Colonial period. 
Post Colonial period. 
L'Art Nouveau. 
Modern mission style. 



CONTENTS xi 

CHAPTER VI 

Page 

Kitchen 64 

Stoves and ranges. 

Directions for setting up stoves and ranges. 

Directions for operating. 
Base burners. 
Electric cookers. 
Gas stoves. 
Kitchen cabinet. 

A practical suggestion. 
Kitchen stools. 
Kitchen tables. 
Refrigerators. 

Care of a refrigerator. 

Window refrigerators. 
Fireless cookers. 

CHAPTER VII 

Dining Room 83 

Modern finishes. 
Dining table. 

Table pads. 
Buffets and china closets. 

Dishes. 
Dining chairs. 

Chair glides. 

CHAPTER VIII 

Living Room 90 

Rocking chairs. 

Davenports. 

Sanitary couches. 

Couches. 

Living-room tables. 

Straight chairs. 

Arts and crafts construction. 

CHAPTER IX 

Bedroom 97 

Modern finishes. 
Dressers, etc. 
Bedroom desks. 



xii CONTENTS 

Bedroom — Continued. Page 

Dressing tables. 
Cheval mirrors. 
Bedroom chairs. 
Plate glass tops. 

Casters. 

Locks. 
Beds. 

Brass finishes. 
Brass beds. 

Lacquers. 
^Clothes trees. 
A brass cleanser. 

Wood, poster and bungalow beds. 
Twin beds. 
Bed springs. 
Box mattresses. 
Mattresses. 

Inferior mattresses. 

Silk floss mattresses. 

Hair mattresses. 

Proper care of mattresses. 
Pillows. 
Cedar chests. 
The auto valet. 

CHAPTER X 

Library 115 

Modern finishes. 

Library chairs and rockers. 

Library couches. 

Library tables. 

Bookcases. 

CHAPTER XI 

Parlor 120 

Hall 120 

Den 121 

CHAPTER XII 

Sewing Room 123 

Sewing machine. 
Needles. 



CONTENTS xiii 

CHAPTER XIII 

Page 

Porches 126 

Sun parlor. 

Mission porch furniture. 
Summer furniture. 
Sleeping porch. 

CHAPTER XIV 

Vacuum Cleaner 130 

Hand power cleaners. 

Electric power cleaners. 

Water power cleaners. 

Avoid unresponsible representatives. 
Carpet Sweepers 132 

CHAPTER XV 

Home Building Pointers 134 

Do Not Invite Poor Service 135 

Take all measurements. 

Prepare a list. 

Examples of lists with prices. 

CHAPTER XVI 

Carpets and Rugs 141 

Carpet terms. 

Printed tapestry Brussels. 

Tapestry Brussels and body Brussels and velvets. 

A poor test. 
Axminster, Moquette and Savonnerie Carpetings. 

Sweeping of Axminster carpets. 
Sizing of rugs. 
Moths. # 
Sprouting. 
Smyrna carpets. 
Ingrain carpets. 
Points of service. 
Shrinking of carpets. 
Carpets fading. 

Table, giving yardage for different size rooms. 
Carpet widths and measurements. 
Selecting carpets. 
Color blending chart. 



xiv CONTENTS 

CHAPTER XVII 

Page 

Linoleums 157 

Different grades. 

Seconds. 

Linoleum preservation. 

Computing yardage. 
Waste and avoiding seams. 
Care of linoleum. 

CHAPTER XVIII 

Window Shades 161 

How to detect quality goods. 

Shade rollers. 

Care of window shades. 

Measuring shades. 

Shade price list. 

CHAPTER XIX 

Oriental Rugs 167 

Classifications. 

Pleasure resort purchases. 

Auction sales. 

A few distinguishing marks. 

Consult an expert. 

CHAPTER XX 

Fire Insurance ' 172 

Insurance on leased goods. 
Understand your policy. 
Important clauses. 
Standard policy. 

Some facts about your insurance policy. 
Leases 178 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE FOR 
THE HOME 

CHAPTER I 

In considering that the cost of living is now an all 
important topic for discussion, it is most essential that 
everybody, especially the younger people, be advised in 
a degree, at least, as to how, where, and what to buy 
in the furnishing of their homes. 

Commodities, on an average, are today little, if any 
higher priced than years ago, but the public demands 
better things and when an analysis is taken, it will be 
found that the high cost of living is not so much a mat- 
ter of the great increase in prices as it is a growing 
demand for the best ; not a question of the high cost of 
living, but as some one has said "The cost of high liv- 
ing." 

When any article is purchased nowadays it is usu- 
ally found that the quantity received is much less than 
in previous years, but an attractive transformation will 
be noticed in that the article is encased in an elaborate 
carton, or wrapped in tissue paper and perhaps bound 
in ribbon ; all of these things are summed up and called 
"Service." 

Education Is Important — Education, therefore, 

i 



2 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

seems as indispensable when it comes to the important 
matter of furnishing- a place where one expects to 
spend, perhaps, the rest of one's life, as it is along any 
other channel. The matter of educating the public in 
the economical buying of furniture, that is. to use 
better and more serviceable furniture, has been sadly 
neglected. It has been stated that the annual expendi- 
ture for furniture in the entire country at the present 
time amounts to only one dollar and fifty cents per 
capita, while the amount spent for cigars, tobacco, and 
coco-cola is something like eight times that amount. 
Whether this be true or not, the indications are that 
the furnishing of the home, so far. has not entered into 
the high cost of living; instead, the money that should 
go into the home is spent for things that appeal to and 
attract the pleasure loving. 

A Little -ld:;cc to Beginners — "Rut very little 
has been offered in really good all-around ad- 
vice to beginners as to how to go about the fur- 
nishing of their new home, and yet there is nothing in 
the whole curriculum of commodities of which there 
is as little known as the buying of household furniture. 
The reason is easily seen, for if a girl has been properlv 
trained. she has. by the time she reaches a marriageable 
age. become somewhat proficient in cooking and sew- 
ing, in the selection of her clothes, in the management 
of a home, but she knows least of all relative to the 
furnishing' of the same, while the young man knows 
much less. His time has been occupied in gaining- his 
education, or if a laborer or a tradesman, his schooling 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 3 

and his work have occupied his time. At the time of 
their marriage the furnishing of a home enters abruptly 
but surely into their life and they together are com- 
pelled to figure out something entirely new and foreign 
and in most cases without the aid of even having previ- 
ously visited a furniture establishment. 

To Buy Wisely Is to Buy Economically. — Young 
people would be better pleased with their purchases if 
they would make their own selection, but they are 
sometimes inflenced by their friends or relatives against 
buying what they wish. Many a couple, when starting 
to furnish their home, has made the huge mistake of 
buying a quantity of the cheapest goods they could 
find, with the idea of purchasing a better grade later. 
After a few years of wear and tear they find that it 
would have been economy to have purchased goods of 
quality rather than quantity. "More quality and less 
quantity," therefore, should be the slogan of every pur- 
chaser. 

Quality, it must be understood, should be consid- 
ered in all phases. Quality of material, quality of 
workmanship, quality of design, quality of finish and 
appearance. 

Production and Distribution — The great problem of 
trade consists fundamentally in the process of produc- 
tion and distribution. While these activities must be 
co-existent, the great commercial problem is more that 
of distributing than that of producing, because pro- 
duction is governed by the demand, or distribution. 
A moment's reflection will reveal the fact that the sell- 



4 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

ing or distributing forces are perhaps the greatest 
activities in the world to-day, as every man, regardless 
of his profession, has something in one form or another 
to sell. 

The Middleman "the Distributor" — The distribution 
of commodities in most cases is ultimately the work of 
a retail shop, sometimes called the "middleman." The 
retailer is to the home what the architect is to the 
building; the decorator to the interior of the home. If 
one will consider the quantity of goods that a single 
manufacturer puts out, and that this same manufac- 
turer makes hundreds and possibly thousands of a sin- 
gle pattern, and that probably only a very few pieces of 
each design go into a community, one will appreciate 
more fully the value of the middleman. Through him 
we are able to obtain an article at the same low price 
as does the person who lives in a large city where 
hundreds of the same design are sold. Imagine the in- 
convenience and dissatisfaction of one having to com- 
municate with the manufacturer for each article needed 
in the home. The fact that there is an army of mer- 
chants makes it possible for a manufacturer to offer an 
article at the minimum cost. To fill these demands 
enables him to make hundreds of duplicates rather 
than six or a dozen. It must be understood that the 
first article of a given kind sometimes costs hundreds 
of dollars, but just as soon as this article is made in 
quantities, the cost lowers in proportion, which gives 
a reduced price to the consumer. 

A Word About the Cost of Furniture Making — One 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 5 

not engaged in the manufacturing business little ap- 
preciates the value of cost making. Is it merely some 
one's idea that a certain article is to bring a certain 
retail price and that that theoretical price is simply 
attached, or is there something with a more fixed basis 
that determines the cost of an article ? There must be — 
so there is. What is the worth of a large oak in a 
forest? One may buy it for a trifle, perhaps turn it 
into a household piece of furniture. That thought may 
lead one to believe that one's furniture will cost but 
very little ; however, it would be found that by the 
time the tree is converted into furniture the investment 
will be ten or twenty times the price of the tree, and 
in the end one will have an article much smaller than 
the original oak. The real cost of furniture is not the 
wood that is in it, but the labor and service rendered 
during its transformation from a tree in the forest to 
a piece of beautiful furniture in a home. The cost of 
services and labor can be determined to one's satis- 
faction by purchasing an old piece of furniture or an 
antiquity, and having it refinished. Rare specimens of 
antique furniture have been purchased at a low figure, 
but when refinished and put into first-class shape it 
was found that the cost was greater than a new repro- 
duction is worth and not as good, since the workman- 
ship of the high grade manufacturers of today usually 
surpasses that of the past. 

It is a difficult matter to ascertain the real monetary 
value of an article. Some claim to do so, but in truth 
no one knows the cost of an article except the manu- 



6 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

facturer. Thousands of manufacturers have failed in 
business, owing to the incorrect estimates of the cost 
of production, and in consequence, selling the article at 

little or no profit. An article of good merit and con- 
struction was placed where experienced buyers from 
all over the country assembled, who were asked to 
name a price on the piece. Their guesses varied from 
ten to fifty dollars. If the educated buyer makes such 
widely varied answers, how could it he expected of the 
laymen to know the value of an article? In most in- 
stances the shopper is not really satisfied in his own 
mind, simply because he does not know values when 
he sees them, but often buys to suit his pocketbook, 
thus sacrificing- quality and trusting to luck tor the 
service, which sometimes proves unsatisfactory. 

furniture Fronts .Irs Not Enormous — Some people 
entertain the erroneous idea that the profit on furni- 
ture is something enormous. This idea must be formed 
because the first outlay seems to be large. Would not 
the same profit rule apply to real estate or the house in 
which one lives? Figure the grocery bills for ten years 
only and see how that will compare with a bill of fur- 
niture that is bought once in a life time, if chosen with 
know ledge. 

The public in general does not realize that the furni- 
ture business is a very difficult business to conduct 
properly and profitably. This difficulty is due to the 
spacious display rooms required and the large force of 
employes needed to conduct the sale of the goods, 
handling, unpacking, cleaning, etc. 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 7 

Patronize Reputable Dealers — But few people know 
how to select goods advantageously, and if compelled 

to buy in large cities should be more cautious than in 
the smaller towns. In the cities some stores can thrive 
on the trade which comes into the store hut once. They 
never expect to see their customers again and conse- 
quently are indifferent as to the quality of the goods 
they sell them. Therefore, those who live in a city 
should go to a reputable dealer where it is known that 
the quality of goods and the prices are right. 

There is not a reputable house that cares to sell any- 
thing except quality goods, as such goods are an ever- 
lasting advertising asset. This does not necessarily 
mean that quality goods are free from defects. In- 
stances occur where glue joints fail to hold or the 
silvering on backs of mirrors checks or peels. Some 
unpreventable thing may happen to the very best grade 
of furniture. 

It should be remembered that the furniture dealer is 
merely an agent through whom goods are introduced. 
lie should not be obliged to repair furniture free of 
charges after delivered and received in good order, any 
more than should a plumber be expected to keep a 
plumbing job up after it has been accepted. If an 
article that is purchased does not give as good service 
as it should, the merchant or agent should be notified 
and he will be only too glad to refer the matter to the 
factory or maker of the article, who, as a rule, will 
make satisfactory adjustment through their agent. 
Almost all manufacturers stand back of their own 



8 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

goods. Your interests, therefore, arc protected by any 
reliable merchant 

American Made Furniture Is Universal — It is to 
one's advantage to buy goods at home. Don't be like 
the lady who went to Europe and brought home with 
her a beautiful chair. The man hired to unpack it 
carelessly knocked it against a door, thus mutilating 
some oi the carving, and under that carving was the 
bold trade mark oi an American manufacturer. This 
is but one oi thousands of cases where American made 
goods are purchased abroad. 

Home Buying Versus Mai! Order Buying — It is 
usually more satisfactory to buy furniture from sample 
than to select from pictures or a catalogue. The mail 
order houses are numerous these days and the un- 
sophisticated are liable to be led astray by attractive 
or awn pictures and nicely worded advertise- 

ments which sometimes represent the goods to be bet- 
ter than they really are. Mail order houses seldom get 
the branded advertised tines oi gooo\> and seldom get 
the best class of trade, because conservative buyers go 
where they can see the article they want. If one is 
not interested enough in what is being bought to see 
the goods before purchasing, and can pay cash in ad- 
vance, and can wait for the arrival of the goods, one 
can eliminate a part of the cost of service for which a 
dealer, carrying a large assortment to choose from, 
must be paid. 

In buying a household outfit from a mail order house 
it seldom occurs that the goods are in stock, conse- 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 9 

quently the goods are shipped from various parts of 
the country, necessitating a wait of from two to four 
weeks, sometimes longer, before the arrival of the 
goods. 

Freight, Damages, Etc. — Freight and drayage is an 
item that is added to the cost of the goods, the same 
as an item of production. If the goods are bought of 
a home merchant, the price includes the freight, and 
the goods arc placed in the home free of any other 
charges. If they are purchased from a mail order house 
the freight is usually not considered and is to be paid 
by the purchaser on arrival of the goods, besides the 
extra trouble of unpacking and setting up the furni- 
ture. Freight alone sometimes makes a difference in 
price between mail order and local concerns of from 
five to twenty per cent, owing to the distance of ship- 
ping points. 

In receiving a shipment, one should be sure to see 
that the goods are not broken before taking them from 
the freight house, and before signing a clear receipt 
for them. As soon as the receipt is signed the railroad 
company is released. If anything is broken, a break- 
age or damage notation as to what is broken must 
be made upon the freight bill, by the freight agent. 
After a satisfactory notation is made, the receipt for 
the goods may be signed. After broken parts are re- 
placed at your expense, a claim must be filed against 
the railroad company, with a paid invoice of the repair 
expense along with the freight bill showing the break- 
age notation, if remuneration is expected. A settle- 



io HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

ment for damages will come as soon as the transporta- 
tion company sees that the claim is just, which takes 
from thirty to ninety days, sometimes longer. As soon 
as a shipper places goods in a freight house and obtains 
a signed receipt for same from the railroad company, 
he is no longer liable, and in the event of breakage or 
damage in transit the settlement must be made between 
the railroad company and the person to whom the 
goods are sent or consigned. 

Think Twice Before Buying on Installment Plan — 
It sometimes occurs that when young men are ready 
to establish a home they are financially limited. Up to 
this time they have probably lived comfortably, but 
have accumulated very little money, consequently they 
seek the installment store for their furnishings. The 
installment or credit business has greatly developed in 
the last twelve or fifteen years. There are two 
kinds of installment stores, although few people 
are aware of the fact. One is the sort that will 
extend a reasonable amount of credit with a certain 
amount of cash demanded at time of purchase, the 
balance to be paid within a reasonable given time. 
Almost every first-class store will extend such credit, 
although they may not advertise it. This kind of a 
store does a great deal of good in its community in that 
it sells goods of quality at a reasonable profit. The 
second is the store that will sell almost any amount of 
goods with a small payment down, with an agreement 
that the balance be paid in small weekly or monthly 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE n 

installments. They usually have an inferior grade of 
goods and sell at a large profit. While this kind of a 
store poses along with the first mentioned as a credit 
house, this is the one to shun. If their inferior grade 
of furniture is bought it will probably wear out or fall 
to pieces before it is paid for, or if their goods of 
quality is selected the price is prohibitive. 

Such advertisements as : "Stop worrying, take ad- 
vantage of our liberal credit plan," "One dollar down 
and fifty cents a week," "Pay when you can," "Let 
us carry the load," etc., seem to offer much, but really 
give little, and attract certain people, and many sales 
are the result. Not until one is into a deal contracted 
under such alluring promises is it realized that it is, 
after all, a burden. It will be learned that the prom- 
ise of such easy payments, etc., has been somewhat 
magnified. Not until after the second or third month 
does one realize that five dollars a month on a two or 
three hundred dollar bill will take from forty to sixty 
months, or three and one-half to five years, of contin- 
uous monthly paying to pay the debt. Most young 
people do not stop to reason this out before they enter 
into their contract, otherwise, they would not assume 
such a large obligation. 

Many a young couple has tried to go to housekeep- 
ing on a meager salary, only to be final victims of the 
installment house or loan shark, or both. This is due 
mostly to inexperience or to a lack of forethought, as 
the actual running expenses of the home, such as rent, 



12 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

light, heat, doctor bills, car fare, insurance, laundry, 
grocery, and other necessary bills had not been care- 
fully considered. 

On the other hand the credit accommodation has 
been a good thing for some people, as they undoubted- 
ly could never have furnished a home had they not 
have had the advantages of credit. 

One should not object to giving the merchant proper 
references when asking for credit (a loan of his prop- 
erty). If one is not worth fifty dollars, credit for 
fifty dollars should not be asked, nor should one blame 
the merchant if he does not grant it. If a person draws 
but twelve dollars a week and has no other resources, 
how much credit can he expect? If one can not pay 
the first weekly bill how can one expect to pay twice 
that amount at the end of the second week? These 
things should be carefully considered before entering 
into any form of a contract. 

A Kindly Word of Warning — A word of warning 
relative to the buying of goods on "lease," or "con- 
tract" or "form" or "agreement," or in whatever term 
it might be applied; it all has the same meaning. A 
"lease" is a written contract for the letting of goods on 
certain terms for a specified time. Failure to meet the 
required terms gives the owner of the goods rightful 
possession, and will hold good in almost every state. 
When a bill on a lease is paid, obtain the original 
signed lease or contract and have it marked paid in 
full. Buying more goods and having it added to 
the former lease makes all the furniture on that lease 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 13 

liable to seizure by default by the firm from which they 
are purchased, as all the goods will show to be on the 
same contract over your signature.- However, when 
one needs more goods and hasn't additional money it 
is a good plan to bind the previous bill of goods with 
an additional form of contract, thereby gaining credit 
and securing the merchant. It is the best plan to pay 
for one bill before entering into another contract. 
There are many forms of contracts or leases, so be sure 
to read the agreement before signing, to know exactly 
what is expected of you. 

Many unprincipled business methods will be found. 
Catchy schemes and bright salesmen are sometimes 
alert to take advantage of the unwary. Warning 
should be taken against such schemes as the follow- 
ing: A second-hand sewing machine is advertised for 
sale. The advertisement is answered and probably a 
machine is bought, and yet day after day the same ad- 
vertisement appears in the paper. A second purchaser 
calls and he will find another machine, hears the 
same story about the owner having to leave the coun- 
try on account of poor health, or some equally pathetic 
tale. A thorough investigation will reveal the fact that 
this so-called private family is acting as an agent for 
some second hand or unscrupulous concern, and that 
the constantly appearing advertisements serve as bait 
for the unsuspecting public. All kinds of house sup- 
plies are disposed of in this manner ; the agents will 
tell almost anything, many times misrepresenting the 
goods, and only too late it is discovered that the article 



14 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

was not "Solid Mahogany" or "Genuine Quartered 
Oak," but merely a poor imitation. In large cities 
many schemes are being devised daily to lure the in- 
experienced into buying a lot of cheap goods that are 
not fit to go into a home. The smaller cities and towns 
prove a poorer field for such operations. 

Country folk also prove easy victims for schemers, 
and it is surprising how often they are duped into en- 
tering into contracts without a thorough investigation. 
Cases have been known where agents selling an article 
to country people, especially, guarantee to allow from 
four to five years to pay the bill of $45 or $75. The 
agent agrees to take a note made out for three months 
for the amount, and promises at the end of that time 
to renew the note for another three months. The prom- 
ise sounds good and the contract is closed. The note 
is taken to the nearest bank that will discount it, the 
agent gets the money and when the note falls due in 
three months the bank expects a settlement from the 
one who signed it, while the agent by that time is 
working some other territory and is not to be found. 

Trading Stamp, Premium and Gift Schemes — Many 
premium, trading stamp and gift schemes are offered 
as an incentive to trade, but every one knows, or should 
know, that nothing is given away. The consumer pays 
for everything he gets. A man stated that his friend 
tried to induce him to join a soap club in order to get 
a premium. His answer was that he would have to pay 
more than the regular price for the soaps and spices if 
he were to receive a premium. His friend insisted that 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 15 

he would not, but to satisfy himself, he telephoned to 
his grocer and learned that the articles could be bought 
for at least ten per cent less. Regardless of the fact 
that the price of a premium is provided for in the bal- 
ance of an order, some people continue to believe they 
are getting it for nothing. 

Do not be the victim of fraudulent furniture clubs 
in which you are to pay from twenty-five cents to one 
dollar each week or month, in order to obtain glitter- 
ing premiums, or furniture at discounts. Do not be 
deceived by the concern that offers you a card of in- 
troduction to another larger concern, possibly in an- 
other city, giving you the impression of buying goods 
at manufacturers' prices or at wholesale cost. The 
small concern will get at least a commission, and the 
larger concern will get the regular profit. No differ- 
ence what their claim may be, it must be understood 
that goods are sold for a profit the world over, and not 
for sake of friendship. A business to live and thrive 
must pay profits and to do this must give value which 
is the essential element in every sale. 

Books could be written on the experiences of people 
who are easily influenced by unscrupulous business 
methods and yet through such methods great estab- 
lishments continue to prosper. 

Dishonest Buyers Harm Honest Buyers and Honest 
Merchants — Dishonest people have helped to make the 
credit or installment business a hard one. These people 
actually make a business of going from place to place, 
pretending almost anything to obtain goods on credit. 



16 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

After paying a few installments on the debt, they 
move to another city to do the same thing over again. 
Some even go so far as to try to sell the goods that 
they have purchased on a lease or contract, and many 
have been successful. This is a penitentiary offense and 
is a risk not worth taking. As stated before, goods 
obtained on a lease belong to the owner of the goods 
until they have been fully paid for and until that time, 
an enormous risk is taken in undertaking to ship goods 
out of a city, under an assumed name or otherwise, or 
to move them to another part of the city or into an- 
other house without first obtaining the consent of the 
person who owns the lease or goods, providing such 
terms are in the lease. 

For their own protection, dealers all over the coun- 
try are forming into associations; first into state as- 
sociations, the state associations into a national associa- 
ion, and it is becoming easier daily to locate the dis- 
honest buyer. Even if a buyer moves across the con- 
tinent, some dealer in the locality to which he goes 
will be notified through their association, and the per- 
son is usually found. 

Eliminating and Discriminating — The order of 
things in the mercantile world seems to be that the 
poor man pays the long price for everything, while 
the man with the money in hand buys at the short 
price. Why should a man who has to labor hard for 
his money pay more for an article than the man who 
is not so unfortunate as to need accommodation on a 
purchase? This in a sense is true, and yet almost all 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 17 

stores cater to the public and not to a certain element. 
As buying is a process of eliminating as well as dis- 
criminating, there is no reason why any man should 
not go into the very best stores in the city. It is the 
buyer's own fault if he pays a high price for inferior 
goods, for if he familiarizes himself with the market, 
he will no doubt learn that he can buy a superior 
quality at this same price. Inferior goods deceive, in 
as much as they are made more for appearance than 
for practical use. 

Leaders or Specials — The advertising of "leaders" or 
"specials" is a great modern method of getting busi- 
ness. Those leaders in most cases are advertised solely 
to attract attention. Go into a store and try to buy 
several of the advertised specials and nothing else, and 
see what success you have. Usually no leaders are 
sold if the buyer can be persuaded to take something 
on which a more substantial profit is made. 

Terms Should Be a Secondary Consideration — Some 
dealers advertise to furnish four rooms for, say $87, or 
five rooms for $99. This can be done, but the goods 
will not last any length of time, and will not justify 
the investment. It is the buyers of such furniture who 
seem to overlook the quality and allow "terms" alone 
to influence them, who help to make such stores thrive. 

Better to Buy Where Acquainted — For some reason 
young people seem to be somewhat embarrassed when 
looking for furniture, and often prefer to buy of 
strangers instead of merchants whom they know. On 
the other hand most salesmen would rather wait upon 
2 



18 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

a total stranger than on a friend or acquaintance. Usu- 
ally the purchaser doesn't feel as much obligation and 
asks more attention from a stranger than if the sales- 
man is known. Again some people dislike the idea of 
having their friends know that they are obliged to buy 
on credit (when necessary), and consequently go to a 
stranger. This is false pride and serves to increase 
rather than to limit the knowledge of their financial 
standing. In most cases when credit is asked by a 
buyer, his rating is investigated and he is adver- 
tised, confidentially, among the other credit houses as 
seeking credit. This is about the only way that mer- 
chants have of protecting themselves. 

In ordering supplies from the large mail order credit 
houses in the cities, as soon as the order reaches them, 
the name of the buyer is usually sent to the credit de- 
partment. This department is often very large, some- 
times an entirely separate department, or perhaps sev- 
eral stores will join together to help maintain this one 
department. The names are referred back to one or 
more merchants, or to an attorney in the buyer's own 
city, to ascertain exactly how they stand among the 
business houses. The following is an example of such 
a letter : 

"Dear Sir — As a business courtesy, we would greatly ap- 
preciate your answering the few questions below in regard to 
the party mentioned, it being understood that no responsibil- 
ity is thrown upon 3'ou. Hoping we may be able to reciprocate 
at some future time, we remain, 

Yours respectfully, 

Credit Dept. 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 19 

Name — Mrs. John Doe. Address 

Is my description above correct ? 

Is party honest and of good character? 

How long have you known the party ? 

Is party prompt in meeting obligations ? 

White or colored ? 

Do they own property ? 

This party desires a credit amounting to $ 

upon which she wishes to pay $ and balance 

$ per week or month. Would you consider 

this a good risk? Enclosed please find 

stamped envelope for answer." 

By such means they get a detailed report on the 
purchaser before sending goods on credit, and in the 
meantime use the money that is sent with the order. 
If a favorable report comes back from the majority of 
the answers in the letter the goods are forwarded, 
otherwise the deposit refunded. 



CHAPTER II 

Woods — All kinds of woods have been used in the 
manufacturing of furniture, viz., pine, ash, elm, oak, 
mahogany, gum, walnut, beech, maple, birch, hickory, 
etc. 

In the sixteenth century the principal woods used in 
furniture were walnut, beech, and oak. The best au- 
thority tells us that mahogany was introduced in the 
eighteenth century about 1710, because of the liability 
of the other woods to decay by being bored by small 
worms. 

The principal woods used in making furniture today 
are oak, mahogany, walnut, birch, maple, elm and ash. 

There are many varieties of mahogany and the nat- 
ural characteristics indicate the country from which it 
comes. Some mahogany is stronger than others and 
this variety would be used, for instance, in that part 
of the chair that would necessitate the greatest need 
of strength, as in the legs. Other varieties can be used 
for the backs and seats of the chairs. 

It is said that fully sixty-five per cent of all the fur- 
niture shown at the great furniture exposition city of 
the world is in this wood, in its various finishes, not- 
withstanding the fact that the cost is gradually on the 
increase. 

Birch is a hard, white, close grained wood and is 

20 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 21 

remarkably suited to take a mahogany finish, and when 
so finished is sometimes hard to distinguish from ma- 
hogany. It is made up into the less expensive furni- 
ture. 

Walnut is now used a great deal ; especially is there 
an increasing demand for the Circassian walnut. Cir- 
cassian walnut is rather expensive. The high cost of 
converting it into furniture is due to the remote re- 
gions in which it is found. It has a very hard, smooth 
grain and on this account is used in the manufacturing 
of fine furniture. In this, as in all woods, there is a 
substitute in the "gum" wood, which can hardly be 
detected. This is soft and porous, but serves as a very 
good furniture material. 

Satin wood is another beautiful wood that goes into 
furniture, but it is used very little, as it is far more 
costly than any wood known to American manufac- 
turers. 

Oak is one of the most abundant woods in this coun- 
try and reputable manufacturers are as particular about 
the selection of their oak as of the other wood that 
they use in making furniture. 

The botanical classification of oaks divides them into 
two families ; one the white oak family, maturing its 
acorns or fruit the same year that it blooms ; the other 
the red oak family, maturing its fruit the second year. 
It is possible, therefore, to establish positively the 
identity of the two families when they are growing and 
in fruit. To distinguish them in furniture is very dif- 
ficult and often puzzles the expert. 



22 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

Oak is finished in many colors, the principal ones 
of which are weathered, early English, fumed, dark 
golden, light golden, malachite (green finish), and 
Flemish (black finish), the last two being practically 
obsolete. The first five finishes are the most popular 
today. The dark shade of golden oak that has been 
popular so long seems to be sinking into disfavor, as 
much goods are being shown in the light golden oak 
finish, and it will be but a short time until the light 
finish of golden oak will lead. The highly polished fin- 
ish is being displaced by the waxed finish, which makes 
a very attractive and serviceable wood. Fumed oak has 
a subdued brown effect and is found mostly in arts and 
crafts or mission designs, and is very practical for 
living rooms and dining rooms, owing to the very 
hard service that it will endure. The demand is grow- 
ing more and more for the light fumed finish rather 
than the dark fumed finish, which has been so very 
popular. Acid stains are used a great deal by the con- 
cerns which have no fuming rooms. The genuine 
fumed is the desirable finish, as this furniture goes 
through first a process of moistening to open the pores 
of the wood and then is put in an air-tight room in 
which very strong ammonia is allowed to evaporate 
and penetrate the wood. The pieces are left there as 
long as necessary to obtain the required color, and 
finally removed to be sanded to a smooth surface, and 
in some instances extra stain is added to make the 
color of the article uniform, as uniformity is sometimes 
lacking, due to the many pieces of wood used in a sin- 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 23 

gle article, which are often taken from many different 
trees of various temperaments. Almost every other 
color than fumed is a surface color and does not pen- 
etrate to any depth, and will, therefore, wear off when 
used on furniture that has hard usage, such as arms 
of chairs, etc., while the genuine fumed finish is prac- 
tically everlasting. 

Various finishes are given to woods by the use of 
different stains. This being the case, one stained finish 
should not, and does not, cost more than another. 

Walnut takes different shades due to the different 
stains used. 

Mahogany, when finished in its natural color is 
light, as also is birch, and the dark finish that is so 
often seen is made by the use of stains, and is not the 
natural color of the wood, as most people think. 

Before the stain is applied, the piece of furniture is 
spoken of by the manufacturer as being in the "white" 
finish. 

Bird's-eye maple is light in color and is usually ob- 
tained in veneers. It makes handsome furniture for 
bedrooms, but is not now used as much as in the 
past. It will darken in color with age, and after a 
piece has been used a while the color is very difficult 
to match. The lower priced bird's-eye maple furniture 
has plain maple posts with bird's-eye maple veneer 
panels and cross-banded veneers. 

White, ivory and French gray enameled furniture is 
very tasteful, but can not be recommended unless pur- 
chased through a dealer who handles high-class goods, 



24 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

as it would be folly to buy anything but the very best 
of such furniture. It requires a very large department 
and a detailed process to develop a finely finished 
piece of enameled goods, consequently a good quality 
is fairly expensive. Unless one purchases the enameled 
ware that is produced by the very best of manufactur- 
ers, who are very particular about the material used 
in the furniture, one might get hold of goods that are 
enameled over knots and other blemishes in the woods, 
and which might not be discovered for some time. 

The use of gold furniture is recorded in the six- 
teenth and eighteenth centuries, and is especially ap- 
plicable in the present day for the refined artistic fur- 
nishing of a modern drawing-room, music room, or 
reception room. The laying of real gold leaf on furni- 
ture is, in most respects, a secret process, and but few 
craftsmen in this country understand the art. 

Printed Imitation, Called American Oak — A ma- 
chine is made that prints the grain and splash line 
figure of quartered oak on other woods. This work is 
also extended to wall paper in various shades to imi- 
tate oak with several different finishes. This process 
involves an exact reproduction of oak by making the 
die or printing plate direct from the wood itself. The 
work was extended to the reproduction of other woods, 
including more particularly mahogany, but it has finally 
settled down till it is to be seen mainly in the reproduc- 
tion of quartered oak figure. It is applied to plain 
woods, like white gum or elm, as it makes a better ap- 
pearance, possibly, than the natural wood without fig- 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 25 

ure, but does not take a finish that will qualify it for 
comparison with the real article. The greatest harm 
this can do is to lessen the favor of the real quartered 
oak because of the prevalence of this rather gaudy imi- 
tation, which is being sold as "American oak." This 
is confusing to the buyer because the best of quartered 
oak is purchased in this country. On the other hand, 
America produces no genuine mahogany, so the term 
"American mahogany" is easily understood as being 
only an imitation in stained American wood. There- 
fore the so-called American oak should he called 
nothing else than the imitation oak. One dealer made 
the statement "that he had been in business two years 
before he could tell the difference, the imitation being 
so perfect." The public demands, in some respect, the 
artistic figure ; at the same time the greater prefer- 
ence is for the less gaudy and for the figures in wood 
that are more restful to the eye and less disturbing to 
the senses. The retailer makes the demand by unload- 
ing a lot of such goods in homes of uneducated people 
who are usually attracted by advertisements that set 
forth "terms." 

Hozv to Detect It — To detect this imitation oak, 
simply turn the article so it can be seen on the under 
side and one can easily determine whether or not it 
is the real or genuine quartered oak, or the imitation 
oak termed "American oak," as that side will show no 
such graining. 

Plain Oak — The term "plain oak" is used to dis- 
tinguish the wood from quartered sawed oak. Some 



26 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

salesmen call it "flat grain oak," which merely sig- 
nifies that it is NOT quartered oak. 

Quartered Oak — This gets its name from the proc- 
ess a log goes through when being sawed. The log is 
cut in four quarters and each quarter is sawed in such 
a way as to show the beautiful flaking of the wood on 
the surface of each slab that is cut therefrom. 

Veneered Versus Solid Woods — The word "solid" 
is associated so closely with the idea of durability and 
stability, that it has created a wide-spread prejudice 
in the public mind against veneered furniture, which 
is not in keeping with the facts. 

Before definitely deciding on the question one should 
inform one's self as to the relative qualities of veneered 
and solid furniture. 

In the first place, veneered furniture is not made 
with the idea of it resembling the solid wood. They 
do not appear alike in the least. Some people believe 
they are being deceived when they are sold veneered 
furniture. The veneered furniture is the most beauti- 
ful furniture we have, because the veneers are so 
beautifully blended and matched. Built up veneered 
goods are as expensive, sometimes more so, than solid 
woods. The finest and prettiest mahogany furniture 
is always veneered, because the solid stock is gener- 
ally plain, without special figure, while a nicely 
veneered piece of mahogany brings out the figures in 
the wood. 

The veneered "panel" is generally made of five sepa- 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 27 

rate layers, thoroughly glued together, and the glue 
joints dried under great pressure. The center or 
"core'' is of some wood which will hold glue well and 
is nearly the thickness of the finished panel. Around 
this is built a narrow frame of solid oak, mahogany or 
other wood, to correspond with the finish of the fur- 
niture. Across the grain of the core is glued on each 
side a thin veneer of some soft, glue-holding wood, 
across the grain of which is glued the outer veneer 
which takes the finish. 

It is almost impossible to break or crack properly 
made veneered panels, and the glue joints are pro- 
tected from moisture by the finish which is put on the 
furniture, just as is done in solid pieces. 

In solid furniture all wide surfaces such as tops of 
tables, desks, dressers, panels, etc., must be composed 
of more than one piece of lumber because it is im- 
practicable to secure one piece having a sufficient width. 
These pieces are glued together. Should a piece of 
solid furniture be subjected to sufficient moisture to 
penetrate the finish, the glue joint will loosen. The only 
conclusion is that veneered furniture is as strong, if 
not stronger, and more likely to endure than solid 
pieces. In event of scratches or defacements, one is as 
easily repaired as the other. Genuine quartered oak 
and the finer woods used in manufacturing furniture 
would cut to an enormous loss if worked up into 
boards for solid furniture. In an inch thickness of 
quartered oak, or other beautifully grained wood, the 



28 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

"pattern" would be lost so that the exquisite "match- 
ing" that exists in the fine veneered furniture would 
be impossible. 

Glue — The average person would be surprised to 
learn how big a part glue is taking in holding together 
the furniture in the home. Owing to the great strain 
that furniture is subjected to, the glue joints are the 
vital points. Glue experts claim that a glue joint is 
stronger than the wood itself, and whether this be so 
or not, glue is a most important factor in all fine furni- 
ture, and is used almost to the entire exclusion of nails, 
screws or pins, and the care with which the gluing is 
done and the grade of glue used, generally indicates 
the quality of the furniture. 

The Effects of Dry Air on Furniture — Much of the 
trouble with furniture glue joints spreading or pulling 
apart is caused by the extremely dry atmosphere in the 
house. This may be overcome to a great extent by 
placing vessels containing water on the radiator or 
heater. In houses where furnaces are used a small 
bucket, about four inches in diameter by five or six 
inches deep, can be suspended under the register in 
the floor. By lifting the iron register the bucket can 
be filled when empty. 



CHAPTER III 

Rattan, Reed, Willow, Fiber Rush Furniture — These 
terms at first are rather confusing to one who is not 
familiar with them, and it is well to be posted in a 
measure, at least, as to what they represent. 

The German, Chinese, and American rattan is prac- 
tically the same thing, and is grown in almost the 
same locality in China, and some of the East Indies. 
They grow in a wild state* over rocks and up through 
and over tree tops, and some reach a length of hun- 
dreds of feet. They have a thorny outer bark which 
makes the rattan hard to handle, but the natives cut 
the rattan and let it lay until, by drying, the thorny 
outer bark peels off, leaving the smooth rattan with a 
nicely enameled outer surface. The natives cut the 
rattan into lengths of from twelve to fifteen feet and 
carry it on their backs to the nearest market. The 
Chinese forward their gatherings of rattan to the great 
rattan market of Singapore, China, where the Ameri- 
can and foreign houses have their agencies. The rat- 
tan is sorted, cleaned, graded, and shipped to the split- 
ting factories in America and Europe. The different 
localities in which the rattan grows have a great bear- 
ing on its texture. The kind that has its roots in 
swamps has a coarse, woody fibre, while the rattan 

29 



30 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

which grows on the high ground has a smooth, white 
appearance and is tough. 

By special delicate machinery, the outside of the 
rattan is split off and used for cane rush, such as is 
used in cane-seated chairs, and the center which is 
left is run through machinery that makes the "reed." 
German and American reed is made by the same kind 
of machinery. 

The Chinese reed is made from the poorest quality 
of rattan, which the American and European markets 
reject, and, as they manufacture the reeds mostly by 
hand, they are forced to use acids to remove the cane 
from the rattan. The acid takes the life from rattan 
and causes it to be brittle and easily broken. 

"Willow" has a hollow center, while rattan has a 
solid center. Rattan is of a long fibrous nature, which 
makes it especially good for bending without break- 
ing, while, owing to the roughness of willow at the 
small joints where leaves have grown, it is not so well 
adapted to bending purposes. 

There is a twisted Chinese grass that has been made 
into furniture and introduced into this country. The 
styles of these goods are beautiful and the prices rea- 
sonably low, but if the construction is carefully ex- 
amined they will be seen to be too poorly made to give 
lengthy service. 

The "fiber rush" furniture, introduced within the 
last dozen years, has passed the experimental stage, 
and can be highly recommended for good hard service. 
It is simply a twisted paper which has gone through a 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 31 

very severe preparation which enables it to withstand 
the hardest kind of wear and abuse from exposure to 
weather. It is used the same as reed on a wooden frame 
work, and has displaced, to a degree, the grass furni- 
ture, having in its favor strength and the lack of the 
odor that accompanies grass furniture. 






CHAPTER IV 

Leathers — In buying black leather goods one should 
select nothing but the best grade of No. i leather, re- 
membering that there are three grades of genuine black 
leather. It takes about six weeks to convert raw hides 
into leather. The hides are moved along from one 
tanning vat to another, each solution contained therein 
becoming stronger, until the final vat contains nearly 
pure tannic acid. On completion of the tannic process, 
a machine divides the hide into three distinct layers, of 
which the upper layer is most valuable, possessing 
nearly all of the natural grain of the hide. This is 
reserved and made into what is called No. I leather. 
The two remaining layers, or flesh hides, are called 
split leather and are without natural grain. They are 
spongy and contain little to resist the hard wear that 
is so often given leather-covered furniture. No. i leath- 
er is used for the best grade of upholstery and for 
every piece of this grade, remember, there are two of 
the inferior grade. This accounts for the oft-written 
advertisements calling attention to a couch, for in- 
stance, covered with leather, for say, fifteen dollars, 
apparently low in price. It is low in price and that is 
all. It will not give good service because it has not the 
qualities of the best part of a hide which is made into 
No. i, or the best grade of leather. If that same couch 

32 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 33 

were covered with No. 1 leather, the price would be 
about double the one advertised. 

The following article, "The Difference in Leather," 
by Edw. T. Harris, written for the Grand Rapids 
Record, while lengthy, is full of valuable information, 
as leather is an important factor in furniture making: 

Currying and Buffing — "While careful and thor- 
ough tanning is all-essential for the production of good 
leather, its practical usefulness for purposes where ap- 
pearance and flexibility are important, depends upon 
the second stage of its preparation, known as currying. 
The hide, split into layers, is received from the tan- 
yard in a rough and intractable condition. Sometimes 
the tanning process has not been fully completed, and 
after a little stretching and manipulation, it receives a 
further soaking in the tan liquors. After this it is 
'slicked out' on a large table, the process being that 
of stretching and scraping with a smooth, blunt scraper 
to remove the creases. The 'splits' are then ready for 
finishing, but the top layer, which has the natural out- 
side or grain layer, is subjected to a process of buffing. 
This is done with a sharp scraper having a turned 
edge. This is worked over the grain side and removes 
a very thin layer, little more than the down on a 
peach, making the grain more receptive of colors and 
finishing materials. Of recent years a system of ma- 
chine buffing has come into vogue whereby this outer- 
most layer is removed in one piece, making a very 
thin tissue. It may be seen used to cover memorandum 
books and for other purposes requiring little or no 
3 



34 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

tensile strength. Of course, the hide from which a 
machine buffing has been taken has not as strong a 
grain as one from which only the slight scrapings of 
the hand burring process have been taken, and is there- 
fore not as valuable, but the manufacturer has his "ma- 
chine buff" to sell and thus it is to his advantage. Hand 
buffed leather is the highest grade, as may be seen, 
and commands an advanced price over machine buffed. 

The T mt of "Splits" — The splits, having no 

natural grain surface, require a different treatment 
looking to the production of an artificial grain or sur- 
face. They have a more or less rough nap. like the 
under side of any leather. Before they can receive a 
finish, this must be concealed. A sticky preparation 
made of linseed oil and other ingredients is applied to 
the skins, which have been stretched taut on a frame. 
When this coat is partly dried, it is smoothed down, 
laying the nap all in one direction. The process is 
repeated until a smooth, even surface is obtained. 
Hides which are to be finished in light tones have 
been subeeted to a bleaching process prior to this. 

From this point the hand or machine buffs, with 
their natural smooth surface, and the splits with an 
artificial one, receive similar treatment for a time. Va- 
rious coatings of varnishes are applied, containing the 
colors which are desired. The basis of these varnishes 
is linseed oil boiled to a jelly-like mass and thinned with 
other materials. The skill of the currier is here dis- 
played in his preparation of varnishes, or "daubs." as 
they are called, which will preserve the leather, wear 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 35 

without cracking or peeling-, and be of an even color 
or tone throughout. The mixing of the colors is an 
art in itself. Several modern processes along this line 
have been tried by some manufacturers, such as the 
application of a highly inflammable solution of gun 
cotton which dries on the outside but remains soft un- 
derneath. The old-fashioned methods are still gener- 
ally used, however. 

The final process is the production of the "grain" or 
characteristic appearance of the natural skin. In the 
many processes to which the hide has been subjected, 
the natural grain has been all smoothed and "slicked" 
away. For shoe and other leathers this is desirable, but 
for upholstery, bag and other purposes, a more or less 
roughened surface is wanted. The split leather has 
had its grain surface removed, therefore it is impos- 
sible to give it a natural grain. The outer layer or 
buff retains its grain and it merely needs to be manipu- 
lated by a process known as "boarding" to come out 
again. 

The Reproduction of Effects — Modern inventive 
genius has made it possible to reproduce the charac- 
teristic grain of any leather on the beef hide. Gen- 
erally, the natural skins are too small or present other 
difficulties which prevent their use in upholstery. 
Therefore, the manufacturer has a photograph made 
of a typical surface, a reproduction is made in the 
form of a plate, almost identical with the plates used 
in newspaper or book printing, and this is used in 
a powerful press to "print" or emboss the desired sur- 



36 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

face. It is in this way that grains, such as elephant, 
hippopotamus, seal, monkey and others, are produced. 
Elephant and hippopotamus hides have a deep, rough 
and irregular grain, seal has an even, rounded grain, 
and monkey a rougher, blistered appearance. Real 
seal was formerly used, to some extent, in upholstery, 
as the skins are often as large as those of cattle. 
It must be noted that these are not the fur-bearing 
seals which are only found in the North Pacific, but 
the white or hair seal, a much larger animal which is 
captured in the North Atlantic and Arctic regions. In 
the old whaling days, many of them were brought in, 
but with the decline of the whaling industry the sup- 
ply has become so small as to be negligible. The nat- 
ural seal has a fine, bold grain, reproductions of which 
are popular for purses and ladies' handbags. 

How Leather Is "Boarded" — Although this printing 
process is necessary on all split leather, the buff layer 
has its natural grain, as mentioned, but in an unde- 
veloped state. The means of bringing this out seems 
ridiculously simple, but like many things requiring 
dexterous hand manipulation, demands a great amount 
of skill and experience on the part of the operator. 
It is almost exclusively a hand operation. The hide is 
laid upon a smooth surface or table with the grain 
side up. It is then folded over on itself and the work- 
man rubs it back and fourth, bearing heavily on the 
fold with a curved board fastened on his forearm, 
something like the shields worn by ancient warriors. 
It is from this "board" that the process is termed 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 37 

"boarding." Numerous patterns may be produced in 
this way, depending on the number of times the skin 
is boarded in different directions. Thus one boarding 
would produce a surface of little creases or corruga- 
tions all running one way. By shifting the skin slight- 
ly and repeating the operation, another set of creases 
is produced at a sharp angle to the first, making what 
is known as "long grain." If the second creasing had 
been at a right angle to the first, little squares would 
result, called "box grain." The so-called morocco 
grain is produced by boarding at a sharp angle which 
makes the characteristic diamond-shaped grain. The 
"round grain," which is generally used for upholstery 
purposes, is produced by boarding in several (usually 
six) directions. By taking a piece of smooth leather 
and rubbing the creases under the hand on a table, 
these grains may be readily produced, although not 
permanently. 

Spanish Leather — Spanish leather, which has be- 
come popular of late years, has several distinctive 
points. Most of what is now sold as Spanish leather 
is produced upon "splits" by the printing process de- 
scribed above, in imitation of the real Spanish leather, 
which is really an "antique material," like the antique 
tapestries which are now in favor. The real Spanish 
leather was made in medieval times, before modern 
processes were dreamed of, and its reproduction de- 
mands a return to the crude methods of the time. Its 
typical surface, deep, irregular creases surrounding 
comparatively smooth areas, is largely a result of the 



38 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

tanning, rather than the finishing. Modern hides are 
tanned by placing them in weak tanning solutions 
first, gradually increasing the strength in order that 
the skin may be gently and thoroughly permeated by 
the tannic acid. The ancient craftsmen were unac- 
quainted with this refinement, and dumped their hides 
unceremoniously into the strongest tanning liquor 
they could make. This strongly astringent solution 
naturally attacked the outer surface at once, making 
it tough, uneven and full of creases and wrinkles. 
When it came to finishing the hide, the tanner was 
unable to smooth out these wrinkles and they thus 
became characteristic of this type of leather. The 
coloring also was done in a crude manner. Several 
batches of coloring material, differing more or less 
in shade, were "sloshed'' on the surface and scrubbed 
around or wiped off. The result was an uneven color- 
ing, darkest in the creases, of course, and almost de- 
fying imitation by modern methods. Real Spanish 
leather, produced by the old methods, is probably un- 
equaled for upholstery use. The imitation, printed on 
splits is neither better nor worse than any other finish 
of this class. 

How Modem Morocco Is Made — Morocco is also 
a popular leather, largely imitated by the printing 
process on cattle hides, for the real morocco is made 
of goat skins, which are not large enough for many 
uses. This tvpe of leather was also developed in 
Spain, mainly by the Moors, who occupied South- 
ern Spain at the time. From them the art spread 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 39 

over Northern Africa and thence to Turkey and 
other Mediterranean countries. It is now largely 
made in England, the process requiring much hand 
manipulation and careful attention to detail. Amer- 
ican manufacturers do not appear willing to ex- 
pend the necessary time to produce the better grades. 
The first point of difference is in the tanning ma- 
terial used, the powdered leaf of a species of su- 
mach which grows naturally about the Mediterranean. 
The finest sumach comes from Sicily, where it has 
long been cultivated and is a leading export. Goat 
skins, tanned with this material, are nearly white, and 
unaffected by light. This is a valuable property where 
light shades are desired in the finished skin. The real 
morocco is also colored by natural vegetable dyes, such 
as are used in the best grades of Oriental rugs and 
with the same happy result. The best imitation of mo- 
rocco is made of sheep skins tanned and finished by 
the same process. The skins are similar in size, and 
when finished can only be distinguished by the ex- 
pert. The test of time, however, reveals the deception, 
for sheep skin has a peculiar loose or spongy fiber 
which does not wear well. The goat is a hardier 
and tougher animal in all respects, and his hide par- 
takes of his nature. The sheep moroccos are avail- 
able for book-binding and for small, fancy leather 
goods where they are not subject to strain. Real mo- 
rocco is very tough and hard wearing. 

Cordovan and Russian Leather — There are numer- 
ous other varieties of leather which occasionally come 



40 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

to the notice of upholsterers, but usually in the printed 
imitations rather than the real thing. Among these 
may be noticed Cordovan, which is of the same gen- 
eral type as Spanish leather, as the name would im- 
ply. It is heavy leather, but soft and fine grained, 
the grain being natural and not produced by boarding. 
It is the chief variety of leather used in the Orient, 
and is often dyed in brilliant reds and yellows. 

Russia leather is chiefly used for book-binding, its 
leading characteristic being a peculiar odor developed 
by the use of the bark of a species of birch in tan- 
ning. Other barks are also used, in which case the es- 
sential oil of birch is rubbed into the hide in finish- 
ing. It was first developed by the nomadic tribes in- 
habiting the steppes of Russia. A curious feature of 
the finishing process was that of sewing two hides 
together face to face, forming a sack which was filled 
with the dyeing solution and left until the desired 
color was obtained. This leather is also produced by 
modern methods, the oil of birch being rubbed into 
the flesh side of the hide to give the typical odor. 

Shagreen is a species of morocco leather with a 
peculiar rough grain. This is produced while the 
skins are damp, the seeds of a native Oriental plant 
being stamped into the surface and then brushed 
away, leaving a curious granulated finish. Real sha- 
green is too hard and stiff for upholstery work in 
general." 

Leather Will Crack — Nothing will prevent split 
hides from cracking, and manufacturers who use such 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 41 

goods on their products will not guarantee the qual- 
ity to the dealer. The best quality of leather is guar- 
anteed from defects and flaws only, and not from wear 
and tear. The general impression is that the best grade 
of leather should last forever. This is not the nature of 
anything, much less that of leather. There are, how- 
ever, several good oils on the market which are used 
as an elixir, and it is money well spent to get one of 
these and go over leather goods occasionally. It will 
do much toward making them long lived. 

In buying leather upholsteries, the inexperienced 
must necessarily depend upon the reputation of the 
concern of whom they buy, owing to the many imi- 
tations upon the market. By feeling the leather, how- 
ever, one can detect the best grades by the fine grain 
and soft effect which they seem to possess, as against a 
stiff, brittle, hard effect that is a characteristic of the 
second or cheaper grades. 

Imitation Leathers — There are many imitations of 
leathers on the market, namely : "chase leather," "Bos- 
ton leather," "imperial leather," "besto leather," 
"victor leather," "leatherette," "fabricoid," "marko- 
lene," "mule skin" and many others, besides imita- 
tions of the Spanish leather. Each manufacturer has 
a particular name for his own make, and possibly a 
different way of manufacturing them, which accounts 
for the many different kinds. Imitation leathers wear 
very well and cost about one-half as much as the 
genuine leather, and great quantities of it are being 
used, with the understanding, of course, that it is a 



42 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

substitute. These materials are made of a heavy satin 
fabric with a coated finish and grain, in exact imi- 
tation of the finest grade of hand-buffed black leather, 
and are far better for wear than the poor grades of 
split leather. They come in the popular upholstery col- 
ors of black, red, brown, green, and tan, better enabling 
one to carry out any desired color scheme. 

Furniture Coverings — The selection of a proper 
fabric for covering furniture demands careful consid- 
eration. The style of the frame of the piece should 
decide what cover is needed, whether it be damask, 
velour, brocade, tapestry, leather, or some other fabric. 
It is, however, essential that the relation be harmoni- 
ous between the style of the frame and the covering. 
Certain periods were characterized by the use of a 
particular fabric. The mission style is usually up- 
holstered in leather. The pattern and color effect of 
the covering should be selected according to the light 
of the rooms and the color scheme, tinting of the 
walls, etc. Everything in the line of upholstery fab- 
rics can be found in any large stock, from the ordi- 
nary low-priced denims to the domestic and imported 
French tapestries, representing an outlay of hun- 
dreds of dollars for even a small sofa covering. Many 
beautiful domestic Verdure tapestries can be had at a 
medium cost. The French tapestries are more tightly 
woven than the domestic tapestries, and, although 
more expensive, the colors hold better. A dealer can 
usually advise along these lines of proper fabrics, if 
aided by samples or idea of color scheme desired. 



CHAPTER V 

Period Furniture — While it is not the purpose of 
this book to go extensively into the subject of antique 
furniture, yet period furniture enters into the present 
day needs so very materially, in that the old ideas 
are being used either in reproduction or as a founda- 
tion for furniture building, that it would be impossible 
to omit the subject altogether. 

People of moderate means so often associate the 
word "period" with "high prices" that usually when 
a period suit is suggested as being appropriate, 
thoughts of extravagance enter the mind and the con- 
sumer will buy the more modern goods at possibly the 
same price, without even investigating the prices of 
the more distinctive furniture. 

Period furniture is not for the millionaire only, but 
for the man of moderate means as well. This state- 
ment can be verified by a visit to any store with a 
fairly good size stock of furniture. As demand really 
dictates the styles, the furniture dealers have fallen in 
line with the demands of the time, consequently dis- 
plays of Louis XIV and other famous styles may be 
found in such stores. 

Furnishing a home is an art to which people are 
giving more and more attention. It has led to the 
study of the history of artistic furnishings, and the 

43 



ii HOW TO IHiY FURN] rURE 

result is that people are becoming more generally ac- 
quainted with the vogues oJ those historic days when 
people lived amid artistic surroundings and when each 
bit of furnishing of the home, from the brass knockers 
to the candles and chairs, were works of beauty and 

nificance, rhose days are being revived with this 
change: rhat whereas the people of a certain period 
of In i"i\ lived with the art of that period, the people 
oi toda) are acquiring the sum of all these arts for 
their homes, rhus, one room oi a home may be fur- 
nished in one design, and another room ma} repre- 
sent an entire!} different period of history, 

Study Kindles Desire Phe desire for period treat- 
ment on the part of the home folk is an indication of 
progress, influenced to a degree, at least, by associa- 
tion w ith good literature, paintings and music. Beauty, 
art and harmonj are qualities which from the begin- 
ning the designers, artists, musicians and writers have 
been endeavoring to express, In ever) material crea- 
tion we see these attributes, and a more fitting field 
foi the featuring of usefulness, beauty, art and har- 
mony could not be found than in a home, 

We welcome this awakened manifestation of art in 
furniture as reproduced from the classical creations 
oi rhomas Sheraton, Messrs, \. Eiepplewhite & Co., 
Thomas Chippendale, Adam Bros, and others. The 
quest oi the beautiful by present-day furniture design- 
has led them to recognize that its best expression 
is found in the products ot' tho.se old artisans. The 
f the fittest is the law of progress, and that 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 45 

period furniture must be the fittest is demonstrated 
by the fact that while many styles have come and 
gone, period furniture is more popular today than 
ever. A style of furniture known as L'Art Nouveau, 
which was ushered in a few years ago with a great 
deal of enthusiasm, has almost been forgotten. The 
designers of this style of furniture went directly to 
the plant and animal life for their motif, and while 
there was much to commend in L'Art Nouveau furni- 
ture, it was popular for but a very short time. It is a 
design, however, that seems to have found a place in 
much of our pottery and jewelry. 

Nothing retards the wide use of any commodity so 
much as high prices. The quantity that can be pro- 
duced and distributed of a given article regulates its 
cost to the consumer to a very great degree. The 
makers of period furniture are finding such a demand 
for their product that they are now turning out beauti- 
ful, high-class pieces at prices within reach of all. 
The opportunity should not be lost just now to say 
that, because of the enduring quality and beauty of 
period furniture, the housekeeper should regard the 
money put into it, not as expended, but as invested. A 
piece of furniture that is, regardless of the passing fad, 
always in good taste, such as period furniture, is worth 
all, if not more than, its original cost at any time, so 
long as it is not actually worn out. 

Samples shown at the great semi-annual furniture 
expositions for many years have demonstrated the 
truly remarkable progress made in the design and 



4 6 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 



quality of furniture up to the present time. This does 
not mean that there has not always been really good 
furniture produced. The old high-grade manufac- 
turers have endured, perhaps, because of the high 
standard they set, and they have influenced others to 
follow. 

English Furniture Predominates — The greatest 
present-day demand is for English furniture and fur- 
nishings in the styles made classic by the early cabi- 
net-makers. The Georgian period, including the work 
of Chippendale, Hepplewhite and Sheraton, seems 
most in favor, probably because it lends itself more 
easily to the uses of the day, and because it gives 
the decorator a wider scope in which to exercise his 
inventive and adaptive genius. The earlier English 
styles, the Tudor, the Elizabethan, the Jacobean, and, 
in some instances, William and Mary, are reserved for 
special treatments where the size and character of 
the room permit them to be used as they should. 



Chronological Hrrangement of period -furniture 



PERIODS 


OF STYLE 






ENGLAND 




FRANCE 




SOVEREIGN STYLE 


SOVEREIGN 




STYLE 


eiizabetb . . . 1558 
REIGN OF TUDORS 




■franc 19 X • 


• • 


1515 j 
to 

1547 s 


"Francois 
Premier" 


Tudor Furniture originated 
during this period. 

to 


- 'Elizabethan' 


Benry XX . 


• • 


1547 J 

to j 
1559 J 


"Henri 
Deux" 


1603^ 


Early days of 
"Jacobean" 


f rancte XX 


• • 


1559 ] 

to ] 

1560 ' 





HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 



47 



PERIODS OF STYLE 

ENGLAND FRANCE 



SOVEEEIGN 
'James X . . • 

Charles X . • . 

Commonwealth . 

Charles XX . • 

Barnes XX , . • 



STYLE 



1625 ) 

to > 
1649) 

1649) 

to [ 

1660) 

1649) 
to \ 

1685 ) 

1685; 

to \ 

1688) 



Oltlliam and Mary 1689 
to 

1702 



Hnne 



George X 



6eorge XX 



George XXX 



1702 

to 

1714 

1714) 

to [ 

1727 ) 

1727) 

to [ 
1760) 

17601 



Inception 
of "Queen 
Anne" 

Introduction 
of Mahogany 



to y 



George XV 
G3illiam XT 
Victoria 



1820 J 
1820 ) 

to [ 
18:30 ) 

1830 ) 

to > 

1837) 

1837) 

to [ 

1901 S 



Chippendale s 
Book pub- 
lished 1754 

Heppelwhite's 
Book pub- 
lished 1789 

Sheraton's 
Book pub- 
lished 1791 

Debased 
"Empire" 



SOVEREIGN 

Charles XX . . 

f)enr>> XXX . . 

fienry XV . . . 

Louis XXXX • • 

Louis XXV . . 



Louis XV . 



Louis XVX 

JSapoleon . 



1560 

to 

1574 

1574 

to 

1589 

1589 ) .. u . 
to i " enn „ 
1610 ) Quatrc 



1610 

to 

1643 

1643 1 



"Louis 
Treize" 



to ► 



"Louis 
Quatorze' 



1715 J 



1715 1 



to y " Louis „ 

Quinze 



1774 J 

1774 ) 

to V 

1793 ) 

1799 ) 
to [ 
1814 S 



Louis 
Seize" 



"Empire" 



48 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

Classic Period — The earliest period is that of the 
ancient Egyptians, modified by later Greeks and Ro- 
mans, and although sumptuous, is in the truest taste. 
The designs were conventionalized from natural forms 
shaped into beautifully direct lines. The style known 
as Pompeian is a good example of this period, from 
which also came the modern ball and claw feet, beside 
the conventional forms of lotus, palm, petal and banded 
reeds. 

Gothic Period — The conditions of life in this period 
were elementary, rude and barbaric. Furniture was 
made chiefly for churches, and all Gothic designs re- 
flect their ecclesiastical origin in the invariable verti- 
cal lines of composition which carry the eye upward. 
The Gothic period was characterized by richly carved 
oak in designs of trefoil, quarterfoil, triangle and 
pointed arch. 

Fifteen tii Century Renaissance, 1 400-1 5S0 — The 
definite beginnings of modern style are dated from this 
period. The solidity of Gothic effects was now united 
to the refinement of Greek ornamentation. The move- 
ment, starting in Italy, was carried to other nations of 
Europe. Hence there is the French, Spanish, Flemish 
and English modifications of the original Italian 
Renaissance, all with marks of similarity, but having 
details worked out in accordance with local feeling. 
Renaissance forms, derived from architecture, had 
fluted columns, large, richly carved feet, low relief 
decorations in scrolls, finely carved panels with Gothic 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 49 

tracery and interlaced strap work, while grotesque 
figures were often employed. Chairs had scrolled arms 
and were mostly underframed. 

The Italian Renaissance abounded in the greatest 
freedom of artistic detail, which was made to serve 
as ornaments for the structural lines. English artisans, 
on the other hand, used enrichment meagerly, while 
Flemish Renaissance was bold and rugged in design, 
with much carving subordinated to the necessities of 
construction. Spanish and French embodiment of 
Renaissance ideas was singularly beautiful and satisfy- 
ing, although less elaborate than the Italian. 

Elizabethan, Jacobean and Tudor Periods, 1509- 
1685 — These periods have peculiar interest for Ameri- 
cans because they were the inspiration of that com- 
posite style termed Colonial. These periods show 
heavy Puritanical effects, squarely built tables and 
chairs, rectangular, box-like construction, and much 
use of gate-legged tables. There was turning and strap 
work with panels carved in low relief. A running 
serpentine circle was a unit in high favor. 

Elizabethan — The artists and craftsmen from Spain 
and the Netherlands were driven from their respective 
countries by ravages of war and settled in England, 
where, under the influence of these great masters, a 
wave of prosperity in the Arts and in Craftmanship 
spread throughout England, with marked advance. 
The social tendencies of England's Queen, Elizabeth, 
and her love of the beautiful in art, supplied an im- 



50 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

petus to the movement, patronized by her Royal High- 
ness, which in all the centuries has perpetuated her 
noble name. 

The Elizabethan in its appearance is somewhat arch- 
itectural, extremely decorative, and may be said to be 
the most dignified and impressive of all the English 
styles. The principal motif in its composition lies in 
its massiveness, rendered with a varying contour, and 
the boldness of its embellishment ; grotesque and nude- 
to-the-waist figures, interlaced strap-work, carvings, 
and arabesques, were among the many motifs em- 
ployed in its ornament. Large bulbous turnings, elabo- 
rately carved with a strong Flemish feeling are usually 
apparent. Fruit and floral carvings, masks, and 
heraldic devices are profusely represented. 

Jacobean — The Jacobean style comprises the fol- 
lowing divisions : James I, Charles I, Cromwellian and 
Charles II. 

Owing to the fact that England at this period was 
perceptibly dominated by continental Europe through 
varying influences, the designers and decorators, either 
from choice or direction were vigorously following 
Italian, German, Dutch, Flemish, French and Span- 
ish masters. 

The decadence in carving, which had been the glory 
of the Elizabethan, was apparent to a shocking de- 
gree, and the furniture of the Jacobean became dull 
and characterless in comparison, but served to make 
for England another decorative style. The principal 
ornate motifs of the Jacobean style are the "S" and 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 51 

"C" scrolls of Charles II, which are repeated and re- 
peated, inverted and reinverted, joined and re- 
joined, in a sort of kaleidoscopic manner, finally com- 
pleting a panel, cartouche or pediment. 

Nearly all of the chairs were upholstered and cov- 
ered in Incarnadine, a short pile crimson velvet silk. 
The trimmings were of tufted borders and short 
fringes of crimson and gold, together with gilt braid 
and nails of varying sizes. 

Cromzuellian — There are some modifications of the 
Jacobean style, hardly worth mentioning, one of which 
during the Commonwealth was invented to fit the 
somber habits of a somber time. It was called the 
Cromwellian style, and is an uninteresting debasement 
of the Jacobean. 

Queen Anne Period, 1689-172J — The Dutch influ- 
ence in art in England dates from the time that Will- 
iam of Orange and his wife Mary were crowned King 
and Queen of England. During the first part of their 
reign much of England's furniture was imported from 
the Netherlands. The demand for the style grew so 
rapidly that by the time Anne became Queen, it had 
become universal and is distinguished by the title of 
Queen Anne style, although the name bears no rela- 
tion to its invention. The decorative peculiarities are 
remarkable for its plain surfaces, ornate contour and 
rounded detail. The legs of the cabinets, tables and 
chairs are of the cabriole type, terminating in a camel 
foot motif. The fiddle-back chairs, as well as the chest 
of drawers called a "highboy," belong to this period. 



52 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

The combined qualities of grace and quaintness make 
this an individual and different type from all previ- 
ous periods. 

Its birth records the decline of oak, and the advent 
of walnut, the use of which became universal in Eng- 
land in the early part of the eighteenth century. Ma- 
hogany, also, was introduced about this time, or in 
1710. 

Chippendale Period, I/54-1812 — Thomas Chippen- 
dale was a master cabinet-maker of St. Martin's Lane 
in London, and his style was derived from Louis XV 
and early Dutch models. The use of mahogany had 
become universal in England by this time, and he exe- 
cuted most of his work in that wood. 

The "ribband" back chair is regarded as his best 
work. His chairs are gracefully made, with a wide 
top, which tapers to the waist ; the backs tip back- 
ward slightly from the seats, which are always wider 
in front than at the back. "C" scrolls and ribbon 
backs, combined with slats and curves in pierced and 
open carvings, are used. Chair legs are formed in 
cabriole shape, enriched with ornament, but the back 
legs of chairs are straight and tapering. 

Chippendale surpassed the French in the handling 
of their motifs, could design Queen Anne furniture 
better than the Dutch, and became famous for his won- 
derful assimilation of Chinese detail, with classical 
contour, creating and perfecting the style known as 
Chinese Chippendale. He published the book which 
brought him fame in the year 1754. 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 53 

Hepplewhite Period, 1754-1812 — George Hepple- 
white, of the noted English firm of cabinet-makers, 
Hepplewhite & Co., in 1789 brought out his "Cabinet- 
maker and Upholsters' Guide." He was greatly in- 
fluenced by the beautiful, simple classic art of Adam 
Brothers, and also by the classic arts revived by the 
excavations of the long-buried Roman cities. He 
visited Pompeii a few years after the discovery of its 
ruins in 1748. 

Hepplewhite also used, in a modified form, ideas of 
the Louis XVI period. He produced a set of chairs 
for King George IV, when that monarch was Prince of 
Wales, which gave Hepplewhite & Co. great prestige. 

The productions of Hepplewhite and Sheraton are 
very similar, and difficult to differentiate. 

The shield or the heart-shaped chair backs, were 
his particular marks. The royal plume within the 
shield back or crowning tops of pieces was Hepple- 
white's original mark, and often the chair backs were 
carved in imitation of festoon or drapery. The Hep- 
plewhite legs were usually tapering squares and often 
spade-footed. The arm chairs had arms which swept 
forward and downward, but not forming a continuous 
upright from the floor. He made sofas longer than 
before known, and he placed four legs along the front 
length. He developed sideboards, and invariably 
curved the front surface inward. 

Adam Period, 1754-18 12 — The Adam Brothers 
who lived in the eighteenth century, were, at first, 
architects and builders. They were inspired in making 



54 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

furniture by their admiration for Roman and Pom- 
peiian styles, but they preserved only the delicacy of 
these effects, intentionally omitting what was rich. 

The Adam style is much like that of the Louis XVI 
period. Chair legs were almost entirely straight, as 
they neglected the bandy shape. Satinwood, adorned 
with exquisite paintings, was largely used, and cane 
was commonly brought into service for the seats and 
backs of sofas. The Adam is a classic style, light and 
elegant of fashion, with characteristics of delicate 
fluting, turned legs and dainty garlands, and is fast 
becoming popular with the present-day reproducers. 

Sheraton Period, 17 54-1812 — Thomas Sheraton was 
a designer of rare ability, and a great rival of Hepple- 
white. He had a shop in Soho, London. His work 
resembles both that of Chippendale and Hepplewhite. 
The one motif of his life work was Louis XVI, which 
he rendered with charming individuality. One of the 
chief distinctions of Sheraton is in the assembling 
together of carving, and the inlay of delicate woods, 
such as satinwood, tulipwood, sycamore and rose- 
wood, which were his favorites. His legs were gen- 
erally round and fluted, reeded or otherwise embel- 
lished, although he also used a tapering square. His 
chair backs were original, being frequently character- 
ized by three straight ornamented bars surrounded 
by the frame. He made sofas long and simple, having 
but little curve, and his tables, of extreme daintiness, 
had tapering legs. Sheraton made many writing 
desks and was originator of the highly esteemed "kid- 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 55 

ney" shape. An absence of projecting ornaments is an 
essential feature of the Sheraton style. The most of 
his lines were straight, and he never used short, sharp 
curves, but whenever he employed curved lines, they 
were invariably long sweeps. 

He was enticed by the popular demand into an at- 
tempt at the Empire style. His production in this 
vogue, however, remains to attest its utter failure. 

Louis XIV Period, 1643-1115 — This period has 
never been surpassed for supreme luxury and studied 
magnificence. It was during this time that the cele- 
brated palace of Versailles was built, with its water- 
works, statues, groves, galleries, pictures and extrava- 
gant furnishings. This cost the King a fortune, as 
the furniture alone, not including either pictures or 
tapestries, amounted to 13,000,000 livres ($2,535,000). 

No period of decorative art has ever approached the 
magnificence and richness of the Louis XIV period. 
Not only the wealthy, but the middle class, indulged 
in the sumptuous furnishings and rich interiors. Early 
in the reign of Louis XIV, in the seventeenth cen- 
tury, there was founded a royal academy of artists and 
workers, domiciled in the Louvre, at Paris, where they 
were maintained at national expense. Boulle (or 
Buhl) was one who was selected for an academician, 
and he gathered together a devoted band of followers, 
including his own sons. Under his direction the Louis 
XIV style was formulated. Furniture was fashioned 
in a combination of curved and straight lines. The 
sides of large pieces were swelled outward, legs were 



56 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

curved, chairs were of ample size and comfort and 
gilding was freely used to add to the richness of the 
massive carving. Elaborate inlays were characteristic, 
executed in metal or tortoise shell in floral patterns, 
with mounts of gilded brass and ormolu. Tables had 
running border patterns, the egg-and-dart, the acan- 
thus and the laurel being units most frequently em- 
ployed. It is for the establishment of the famous 
factories for the manufacture of elegant tapestries that 
this reign is chiefly known. In 1677 Colbert, the Min- 
ister of Finance, persuaded Louis XIV to buy the 
factory owned by a family named Gobelins, with the 
celebrated painter Le Brun at its head. The Aubus- 
son factories were also established, and the products 
of Gobelins and Aubusson have ever since been fa- 
mous for their beauty and artistic merit. 

Old colors predominated, but the yellowish pink 
hue of dawn, called Aurora, Flame color, Flesh color 
and Amaranth, a purplish red, such as occurs in com- 
mon flowers, were seen in sumptuous brocades and 
damasks, manufactured in Lyons, Genoa and Flanders, 
and were used to line the walls, for covering the seats 
and draping the great beds. 

Louis XV Period, 1715-1774 — In this period of 
Louis XV we find a continuation of the extravagance 
of Louis XIV. Speculation was rife, and it was a 
period of much inflated wealth. Fabulous sums were 
paid for the best work of all kinds that artists could 
produce. Nothing in decorative art was too magnifi- 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 57 

cent to cater to the comfort, convenience and taste 
of the rich. 

J. A. Meissonier and Boucher were the two great 
masters who fitted and molded their talents to the 
vulgar fancies of their monarch. 

Boucher was a great painter, and won great praise 
from the King for his voluptuous and often almost 
indecent creations. 

The rococo of Meissonier, which he created and 
matured in the service and pleasure of the King, is 
the most intricate and extravagantly ornate decora- 
tive vogue ever conceived. Its wonderful shell and 
rock-like sweeps and flaring curves, filled and crowded 
with leaf and flower motifs, is graceful, to say the least, 
and fulfils its intention, a profound appearance of 
elegance. 

In this period the slender chair legs had graceful 
curves, in fact, the technique of the curve was re- 
duced to a fine art, while the frames became decorative 
borders for panels of the richest tapestry, brocade or 
damask. One has no difficulty in recognizing examples 
of Louis XV furniture, in which the ever present 
curve is a most distinct characteristic. 

At this time there flourished the Martin family, 
originally coach painters, who invented the famous 
lacquer ever since known as "Vernis-Martin." 

Louis XVI Period, 1 774-1 793 — Louis XVI was a 
grandson of Louis XV, and succeeded him as King 
of France in 1774. The change in styles from Louis 



58 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

XV to Louis XVI was not a sudden one. During the 
latter part of the reign of Louis XV there was a nat- 
ural reaction to the chaste, following a period of ex- 
cessive ornamentation. The most important feature of 
this change was the introduction of straight and 
geometrically curved lines in place of the more free- 
hand curves of the rococo. 

Louis XV was the most dissipated and spendthrift 
king the world has even known. With him there was 
absolutely no thought of the morrow ; his court was 
extravagant to the highest degree. ''After me the del- 
uge," he said, and the French revolution which fol- 
lowed in 1792 was the harvest of the whirlwind sown 
by Louis XV. 

Louis XVI style is due to a desperate attempt on the 
part of the court to return to a simple style of living 
after the debauchery and extravagance of the previ- 
ous reign. Artistically considered, Louis XVI style 
is a modification of the Greek. The Greek details used 
in the architecture are necessarily light in order not to 
overpower the soft colors of the walls and ceilings, or 
to stifle the designs in the fabrics under so much archi- 
tectural dignity. 

The modest taste of Marie Antoinette, the beautiful 
wife of the King, was a powerful influence for the re- 
turn to the classic as a reaction from the preceding 
reign. Her chief furniture and cabinet-maker was 
Reisener, who worked for her for twenty years. 

The unearthing of Herculaneum and Pompeii 
earlier in the century also stimulated the use of the 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 59 

Greek and classic models. Artists and architects 
turned from irregular panels and scrolls in the ro- 
coco to angular panels, simple molding and broken 
corners, the whole following out rectangular forms 
and fine embellishments. Fluting in various forms 
was used, together with tapering legs and bronze 
mounts. 

Louis XVI is a style most suitable for home life 
because of its simplicity, and yet it is superb enough 
to furnish the drawing-rooms of a royal palace. With 
a selection of brocade damask, brocatelle or velours, 
it can be brought in price within the reach of the 
average purse. On the other hand, by the selection 
of genuine hand-woven Aubussons and Gobelins 
tapestries, the expense is very considerably increased. 

Soft colors are the favorite in this style in America, 
but crimson, bright yellow and other brilliant colors 
were used in draperies during this period in France. 
The most harmonious colors for this period are white 
and yellow, crimson and gold, or green and white and 
gold. 

First Empire Period, iyg^-1820 — In this period 
classic forms were revived, with ornaments modified 
by Grecian art. It was an expression of Napoleon's 
personal taste, and excluded all remembrances of for- 
mer royalty. The French revolution having destroyed 
the fittings and decorations in the old palaces, this new 
style was originated to be in every way different from 
the preceding luxury. The Empire style was straight 
and severe, but rich and dignified. The massive carv- 



6o HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

ings were structural, and mere applied decoration was 
wholly omitted. This style is the best union of ancient 
Greek beauty with modern comfort that is known. 
Mahogany, with gilt and bronze mounts, was largely 
used. The decorative units, copied as they were from 
antique models, included the laurel wreath, fasces and 
e igle. 

onial Period, 1620-1787 — Colonial furnishings 
are merely a reproduction of the contemporary fur- 
nishings of the mother country modified in the earlier 
periods by the simple tastes of the early colonists. In 
the early 3 ' the settlement of America. English- 

made furniture was scarce and confined to the turned 
wood type which was known as the Jacobean. The 
Colonial style developed its best qualities during the 
latter part of the eighteenth century. It was a pic- 
turesque period full of charming variety. 

None of the seventeenth century furniture was ma- 
hogany, a wood that did not appear in England or 
America until the eighteenth century. From about this 
period we date the Colonial tendencies toward a bet- 
ter class of furniture and furnishings, for the Colonies 
had passed beyond the mere struggle for existence 
and were prospering. 

The history of Colonial furniture may be properly 
divided into several periods, as influenced from 
abroad: from Elizabeth to Queen Anne, 1600-1700, 
showing Elizabethan, Jacobean and Cromwellian in- 
fluences ; from Queen Anne to George III. 1700-1760, 
showing Dutch influence; the George III period, 1760- 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 61 

1800, showing the classic revival and the introduc- 
tion of the French and Chinese character in design ; 
and the concluding years of the George III period to 
[820, showing that type known as the "English Em- 
pire." The earliest Colonial furnishings were influ- 
enced by the English and Dutch styles of the Eliza- 
bethan and Jacobean age. With the settlement of Vir- 
ginia and Maryland and later settlements in Xew Eng- 
land much wealth came into America, and home fur- 
nishings were beautiful. In New Amsterdam, prior 
to 1074 when the English took control, there was also 
a great deal of wicker furniture, East Indian cabinets, 
ebony chairs and all that would naturally come with 
the East Indian trade, which the Dutch controlled. 

While it is true that Colonial style developed its 
best qualities during the latter part of the eighteenth 
century, it is also true that the most interesting period 
was the latter part of the seventeenth century, when 
the carved and wainscoted chests, Flemish cane chairs, 
beautiful Spanish pieces, heavy oak cupboards, Indian 
ware and Dutch, Italian and Spanish curios were gen- 
erally used. It was a picturesque period, full of charm 
and variety. 

The Colonial style carried no carving; as a rule, its 
distinguishing mark being wide, polished surfaces, 
with symmetrical curved outlines. The Colonial sofa 
had cornucopias to form the curve of the arm, large 
animal claws for the feet and a graceful sweep to 
the back. An especial Colonial ornament was the pine- 
apple or pomegranate. Bureaus and sideboards were 



oj HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

made with posts continued down to make feet. Side- 
boards had four posts across the front and the mid- 
dle section was curved outward. 

Post-Colonial Period — At the close of the American 
war of independence it is natural that there should 
have existed in the hearts of the American people a 
strong aversion to everything English, in domestic, as 
well as state affairs. Therefore, this influence, to- 
gether with a sense of gratitude toward France for 
her aid in their great struggle, furnishes the chief 
motif in the birth of a new decorative style. 

\\ hatever has been, or may be said, in praise or 
blame, whether with pride or indifference, we of 
America must needs claim it as our own. It had its 
conception in the noblest of American causes, and its 
development in the construction period of the new 
nation. 

flic original motif was French Empire, but so Ear 
removed is it from its origin, through the many 
changes in its natural development, that it became com- 
plete as a new and distinctive style in furniture. It 
was evolved in the Post-Colonial period, 1810 to 1827, 
and continued its supremacy for a period of about 
thirty years. It is known as the Tost-Colonial style, 
and has recently been revived with great success. In 
us composition it presents a vigorous appearance in 
the ensemble of its characteristics, which chiefly in- 
clude an unconventional contour, massive elements of 
construction, and the spectacular treatment of its sur- 
faces. 



HOW TO BUY FURNITUkK 63 

U Art Nouveau — L'Art Nouveau is a term given to 
a new school or design which had its birth about 
twenty years ago in Paris. This end-of-the-century 

style deliberately sets aside past traditions and re- 
turns to nature with complete originality as the guid- 
ing rule. It somewhat resembles Japanese art in its 
conventionalities of swirling clouds, rippling waters, 
buds and petals. The style is made up of lithe, plastic 
lines, and is a distinct revolt from the elassie. It is 
recognized today as the most thoroughly original deco- 
rative art movement that France has seen since the 
creation of the rococo. This style as applied to fur- 
niture has been almost forgotten, however, owing to 
the fact that there is a greater demand for other styles 
that have a closer parallel with history. 

Modern Mission Style — From the old Spanish 
regime in California, and its memory of Franciscan 
frairs, is descended the Mission style, with its flat, 
quaint, unadorned, plain and heavy construction. It 
is pleasing because of its oddity and satisfactory pro- 
portions, suggesting repose, comfort and suitability 
for modest homes. Oak, in its various dark finishes, 
is the wood used, with smooth upholstery of leather. 
This is not recommended for complete home furnish- 
ings, but is especially adaptable for living rooms, din- 
ing rooms and dens. 



CHAPTER VI 

Kitchen — Stoves and Ranges — In homes where they 
use . the coal range and the heating' stove are 
very important factors. The consumer probably has 
re difficult experience in getting good service from 
a ranee or a heating stove than from all other of the 
>hings. la certain make of range 

fail to bake, for instance, in one kitchen, when exactly 
the same model will give the very best of service in 
another? Why will the grates of one last for years 
without renewing, and in the other last I few 

weeks? Why will a iseburner, that one family will 
testify consumed but four tons of coal during a win- 
ter to heat a five-room lior.se. require a neighbor, with 
the same model to burn twice as much and then hardly 
keep three rooms warm? Such experiences, and many 
others, are exactly what occur every day. The reason 
why many persons are unfortunate in obtaining good 
service from the cooking or heating stove is often- 
times not the fault in any way. but that 
of the operator and sometimes that of defective fines. 

A range that weigh.- hundred pounds will be 

a better range than one which weighs but three hun- 
dred pounds. Because of its weight it will stand harder 

04 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 65 

service. The ovens are built better, as is the top of 
the stove. For this reason, it is difficult to select a 
stove from pictures. Some stove foundries put out a 
fine looking', large stove for an attractively low price, 
but when used it will soon be found to be deficient in 
weight and quality. It is necessary to consider one's 
requirements thoroughly, and be sure to see the stove, 
or one like it, before buying. 

The malleable steel range is higher priced than the 
all-steel and cast iron ranges, on account of the dura- 
bility that is insured by the usage of malleable parts. 
All frames of a malleable range and all doors, tops, top 
plates, covers, centers, etc., are made of malleable iron, 
consequently will not break. This is a valuable point in 
their favor. 

The steel and cast ranges or cook stoves are used 
more than the malleable, owing to the lower cost, and 
with the proper care should last many years. 

Ic is well to buy a range with a loose fitting top, 
for in case of a piece of the top warping or burning 
out, it can be replaced by simply setting in a new piece. 
In the riveted top, it usually takes a high-priced me- 
chanic many hours to replace the piece. A pouch feed 
door for the supplying of coal without removing the 
lids from the stove is important. Due consideration 
should be given the size of top desired, and whether 
there are four or six lids. An enameled iron reservoir 
seems to give longer service than a copper reservoir. 
Stoves with smooth finished nickeling seem to be grow- 
ing in demand, and it should be remembered that the 

5 



66 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

fanciest and brightest trimmed stove is not always the 
best. 

Much care should be exercised in the setting up of 
a stove or range. In ninety-nine cases out of a hun- 
dred where the stove is blamed for not baking, etc., 
the trouble is caused by the setting up, or by the flues 
of the house. 

Directions for Setting up Stoves and Ranges — For 
Chimney — The first essential for setting up a range or 
cook stove is to examine the chimney and see that it 
has sufficient tine space and is of proper height. It is 
the chimney alone that furnishes the draft and not 
the stove, as many suppose, and it must, therefore, be 
of good size and clear of all obstructions in order to 
furnish draft enough to operate the stove perfectly. 

The flue should be round or square, at least eight 
inches in diameter, and as high as the main part of 
the house or any wall near it. If not high enough, it 
should be extended with brick, if possible, but if a 
sheet-iron cap is found necessary, have the pipe at 
least eight inches in diameter and see that it fits the 
chimney tight. If any air is admitted around the top 
of the chimney, it will decrease the draft, rather than 
help it. The chimney should be straight, not angular, 
should have no bends or turns, should be even or flat 
at the top. and all chinks or off-sets should be well 
filled with mortar. There should never be two open- 
ings into it unless opposite each other. The fine that is 
used for a stove should not be used for ventilating the 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 67 

cellar, and all openings into it, above or below, should 
be tightly closed. A new or green chimney will not 
have a perfect draft until it is thoroughly dry, which 
requires from two to four weeks time. 

For Pipe — Use as few joints of pipe and elbows as 
possible. See that they fit tightly together, and into the 
chimney and onto the collar of the stove properly. Al- 
ways have the pipe and the opening into the chimney 
full size of the collar on the stove. If the stove de- 
signer had needed a smaller collar he would have 
specified it. See that the pipe is not telescoped at the 
elbow. After all of these parts are properly adjusted 
and well arranged, one should open the direct draft 
damper and see if a good fire in the stove can be had, 
together with a strong draft. If the fire will not burn 
well the trouble is not in the stove but above it. If 
the fire does burn well on the above direct draft, close 
the oven damper and see if the oven will heat and bake 
well ; if not, examine the flues and damper and see : 

1. That all the flues are open and clear. In cleaning 
flues many do not clean all the flues and frequently 
push soot and ashes into back corners and in that way 
stop them up. 

2. Examine all of the dampers. It is necessary to 
know how they operate so they may not be open when 
they should be closed. 

It is possible for the draft of the chimney to be so 
strong that it will carry the heat so rapidly around the 
oven that it can not be absorbed by the plates, and the 



68 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

oven will fail to heat sufficiently to bake. Every stove 
should have a damper in the pipe which will regu- 
late this trouble. 

It is not best to set two stoves to the same flue, or 
to use a T joint, if it can possibly be prevented. 

For Stove — See that all the flues are open and clean. 
See that damper and flue stops are in place and closed 
tightly, being very sure that the one back of the ash 
pan is very tight. 

Directions for Operating — Heat up slowly the first 
time. Fill the reservoir before starting fire. Do not 
fill fire box above the top of the linings at any time, 
as more fire walls are burned out from this cause than 
any other. Shake the grate often and keep free from 
cinders and ashes. Do not let the lower front door 
stand open, as enough draft can be obtained through 
the draft register. When baking, the register in the 
feed door should be kept closed in order to thoroughly 
heat the air by sending it through the fire before 
sending it around the oven. Do not operate the stove 
with the direct damper open, as too much fuel is used 
and the fire burns too rapidly. Empty the ash pan at 
least once a day. Do not set leaky vessels or spill cold 
water on the stove, as there is danger of cracking the 
top. Do not let the reservoir covers stand open, or set 
a hot flat iron on the hearth or shelves, as there is 
danger of cracking them. 

If soot hangs to the lids, it is evidence of a poor 
draft, or that the stove needs cleaning out. 

If soft coal is used have the coal dry and well 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 69 

broken. Do not put much fuel on the fire at a time, 
and clean the flues out often and scrape them, both 
top and bottom. 

If hard coal is used, use range size. Fine coal will 
not do. Shake the grate often and keep the clinkers 
and dead coals out of the ends and corners of the fire 
box. Keep fire box filled up even with the top of fire 
linings, only. 

If wood is used always use the wood linings that 
are made for the stove, and do not cut the wood too 
long. 

Many will be surprised to know that every piece of 
a range has a name. In ordering repairs, it is necessary 
to give the name and number of the range, which is 
usually to be found near one back top corner. State if 
"square" or "reservoir" style. Describe the pieces 
wanted if possible, using the technical names which 
can be procured from any merchant who handles 
stoves. 

Always instruct whether to ship repairs by freight 
or express, the latter being quicker, but doubly ex- 
pensive. 

Baseburners — Many thousand baseburners are sold 
every year, and many of them prove unsatisfactory, 
not altogether from faults in the stove, but from vari- 
ous causes, such as poorly constructed flues, poor 
grade of coal used, or very often, poor management in 
regulating the stove. Baseburners get their name from 
the way they distribute the heat through the base, up 
and into the room by special flues in the stove. The 



70 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

prospective purchaser should examine the special flues 
for heating the base so he may understand their prin- 
ciples and also that he may know how to take proper 
care of the stove. In buying any kind of a heating 
stove the first thing to be taken into consideration is 
the size and number of rooms to be heated. Include 
in this consideration height of ceilings, and number of 
windows and doors in the rooms. Where there are 
children running in and out, or where there is a large 
family, it will take more heat units to bring about the 
required temperature than will be required in a place 
where there arc less people to open and close doors. 
This helps to account for the many different experi- 
ences various families have with exactly the same kind 
oi a stove. 

With a baseburner, the largest size will curtail the 
coal bill, as it takes practically no more coal to run a 
large stove than it does to feed a small one. A small 
stove will not do the work of a large one, as it has 
not the capacity, and will radiate only the amount of 
heat which its capacity will allow. On the other hand, 
by proper adjustment of the dampers, a small amount 
of heat can be obtained from a large stove, and when 
more heat is wanted, the stove, being large, can pro- 
vide it. 

The more nickel-plating a stove has the more it 
will cost, and this is not essential to the making of a 
good heating stove. In order to give good service 
nickel-plating should be done on copper, otherwise it 
may rust and give much trouble. 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 71 

In buying a baseburner a large heavy fire bowl with 
heavy grates should be well considered. The stove 
should be constructed so that by removing a few bolts 
and the front doors the bowl may be taken out with- 
out tearing the stove to pieces. This is advantageous 
when a bowl cracks or wears out, as most of them will 
do in time, with no discredit to the stove. 

Some baseburners have small openings near the top 
of the magazine, as an escape for the carbonic gas that 
comes from the coal, allowing it to pass through the 
fire and flues of the stove and out the chimney, rather 
than into the room, thus endangering life by suffoca- 
tion. 

To start a baseburner, charcoal is valuable, as it 
does not blacken the mica doors, as does kindling or 
wood. When a baseburner is once started, it should 
not go out until it is taken down for the season. 

Electric Cookers — In a few years most cooking will 
be done by electricity, as electric cook stoves are in 
great demand, and but few manufactured. These few 
will no doubt be improved and many others made, as 
they are in their infancy. The utility of such a sys- 
tem can be easily seen, as a switch which can be 
thrown on at any given time is governed by an alarm 
clock set for the occasion, and the cooking begins be- 
fore the housewife arises in the morning or returns in 
the afternoon, and at an expense little greater than that 
of burning an incandescent lamp for the same length 
of time. When a meal has been cooked the required 
time, automatic appliances turn off the current, thus 



72 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

insuring no waste. This and many other electric de- 
vices go a great way toward solving the household 
economic problem. 

Gas Stoves — Lias stoves should be of as sanitary a 
type as possible, containing top burners that can be 
taken apart for cleaning. Many stoves have trans- 
parent oven doors that enable one to see the inside of 
the oven when cooking, thereby saving the heat and 
eliminating the rush of cold air in the oven when open- 
ing the doors. The flame can also be seen and adjusted 
by regulating the valves. The price of a stove with an 
elevated oven is somewhat more than one with a low 
oven, but it will save labor on the part of the house- 
wife and is highly recommended, although caution 
should be exercised, as such tops have a tendency to 
throw the heat of the lower flames forward, sometimes 
burning the face or setting the clothing ablaze, es- 
pecially where the oven extends over the whole top 
of the stove. 

An eighteen-inch oven is the most practical, if one 
expects to do much baking, as in this size four nine- 
inch pie pans can be placed at one time. If an oven 
measures but sixteen inches it will contain but two 
nine-inch pans and at the same time use nearly as much 
gas as the larger size. 

After using a gas stove for baking it is well to leave 
the oven door open for a short time to allow ventila- 
tion, thus preventing sweat and rust. To keep the 
range black, wring out a sponge kept for the purpose 
and rub well with soap. Wash the stove when it is 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 73 

not warm, and thus keep it black and free from grease 
spots. Use matches freely rather than allow the flame 
to burn continuously, thereby wasting gas. Turn off 
the gas the moment it is not needed. 

Some gas stoves require several minutes of heat- 
ing before placing the pastries in the oven. With 
others the oven can be rilled before lighting the gas. 
The latter will cause a great saving in the consumption 
of gas in a month, if there is much baking to be done. 

Stoves without pilot lighters may be had, and will 
help curtail the gas bill, as extra lighters consume ex- 
tra gas. , 

Kitchen Cabinet — The development of the kitchen 
cabinet is due, to some extent, to the scarcity of house 
maids, and has done much to lessen the kitchen drudg- 
ery for the housewife. A good kitchen cabinet well 
equipped will lessen the purchase of kitchen supplies. 
It contains flour, sugar, and salt bins, a flour sifter 
and tray, glass spice cans, cooling cupboards, with 
bread and cake boxes, pan racks, bread board, large 
storage cupboard, cutlery drawer, grocery lists, calen- 
dars, etc., a pantry within itself. This, in connection 
with a cooking range, is about all that is really neces- 
sary in a kitchen. 

A cabinet with a flour bin in the top is the most 
practical, for the reason that as fast as new flour is 
turned into the top of the bin, the old flour is being 
sifted out of the bottom. If the flour bin is in the base 
of the cabinet the bin has to be removed before the 
flour is poured in to insure perfect satitation. 



74 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

An upper flour bin must be of the kind that tilts 
forward or drops down to be filled, or one that can be 
removed for cleaning, etc. 

The flour sifter in the bottom of the flour bin must 
of necessity be easily removed as it will wear out and 
must be replaced. 

A full sliding aluminum top, on the base, is desir- 
able, as it insures a larger working surface when it 
is pulled out or extended, and is the most sanitary. 
Avoid the partially sliding top, as the water will run 
down between the sliding top and the top of the cab- 
inet base, and sometimes bind the top in such a man- 
ner that it can not be pulled out. Metal that bends 
over the edge of the work table is preferable to the 
metal that is fastened to the edge of the top with 
wooden strips. 

There should be a partition either of wood or heavy 
pasteboard immediately under the top, to prevent 
water from dropping into the lower compartments. 

See that the locks on the doors work from the out- 
side. This insures a door from being locked on the 
inside and failing to work, and may save a lot of 
trouble. 

Cabinets provided with sliding doors and those of the 
"open" top design with doors which open high above 
the working table seem to be growing in demand. If 
the doors are low and must be opened when the table 
is in use, it will necessitate the removal of all articles 
on the working table — hence the advantage of the 
doors which are hung high above the table top. 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 75 

Examine the hinges of the doors to see that they 
are sag proof, especially if the sugar bin is fastened 
to the door, as the weight may eventually sag the 
door. 

Owing to a lack of wall space it is sometimes 
necessary to buy a cabinet base only, as it may have 
to be placed under a window. Such a base should 
contain a flour bin. 

Cabinets of "sanitary leg" type with copper ferrules 
and easy running casters are the most practical. 

There are also hanging wall cabinets which have no 
bases and which contain only such apartments as are 
found in a cabinet top. Very few of these are used. 

A Practical Suggestion — Those who contemplate 
building a home should refrain from building a sta- 
tionary cabinet in the kitchen. The main reason is 
that during certain times of the year the kitchens are 
sometimes visited by small ants. This does not reflect 
upon the housekeeper, as ants infest the best of homes 
and are almost impossible to guard against. They not 
only go to the kitchen, but to all parts of the house. 
If a cabinet is portable, one can keep them from en- 
tering by placing the legs of the cabinet in dishes 
filled with poison. There are special casters made with 
a small flat cup above the rollers, which can be put 
in the legs of a cabinet to replace the regular caster. 
These small cups filled with powdered borax or poison 
will keep the ants out of the cabinet. 

A stationary cabinet may be modern today, but a 
few years hence be out of date and not easily changed. 



76 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

The idea of using a built-in cabinet that some one has 
used in a rented apartment is not always satisfactory 
to the newcomer. 

Metal cabinets are growing in demand and no doubt 
will contribute their share to the sanitary conditions 
of the day, although they are harder to keep clean 
than at first thought. 

Kitchen Stools — One of the most practical things 
to be used in a kitchen is a stool, twenty-four inches 
high, with a revolving seat. They are inexpensive and 
will be of great service to the housewife. 

Kitchen Tables — Manv small families serve their 
lunches in the kitchen. There are many tables used for 
this purpose, some with drop leaves and others with 
round tops, thirty-six inches across, which will ex- 
tend to five feet in length with leaves to fit in. These 
can also be used in very small dining-rooms. Some 
kitchen cabinets can be had with an extra drop leaf 
that may be used for the same purpose. 

Refrigerators — Their Main Elements and Factors — 
Heat. cold, and gravity are the three elements of re- 
frigeration. By the simple force of gravity the cold 
air falls to the lowest point in the refrigerator, enter- 
ing the provision compartment and displacing the 
lighter air which goes through the air flues into the 
top of the ice chamber. When it comes in contact with 
the ice and metal under it all the moisture and im- 
purities are condensed and pass off through the drip 
pipe. This dry. pure air then passes into the pro- 
vision chamber, again forcing the air into the ice 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 77 

chamber to be again relieved from its impurities, con- 
tinuing the cycle and thereby causing a positive cir- 
culation of pure, cold, dry air, the three necessary con- 
ditions for the preservation of perishable articles, 
There are many refrigerators on the market which 
serve no better than a common box, in that they lack 
the most important factor of a good refrigerator, 
namely "insulation." A good refrigerator should keep, 
not ice, but food, by having a sufficiently low tempera- 
ture by the aid of ice to restrain (though it is almost 
impossible to kill) the bacteria that develop in a warm 
temperature. It is insulation in the refrigerator that 
keeps this temperature low, by preventing the hot 
air from entering, and coming in contact with the pro- 
visions. 

Insulation and circulation are two most important 
factors in refrigeration, for without one the other can 
not exist. 

The insulating materials can not be seen, as they are 
in the walls of a refrigerator, and for this reason it 
is difficult for the inexperienced to know a good re- 
frigerator. 

There are many insulating materials used in the 
manufacturing of refrigerators. While dead air is the 
very best non-conductor of heat known, it is very dif- 
ficult to get dead air space, and materials that are 
most commonly used are cork, asbestos fibre, charcoal 
sheathing, felt and mineral wool. Loose charcoal is 
good, but will absorb moisture, and dryness is ab- 
solutely necessary for the best of refrigeration. 



78 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

Appearances of a refrigerator have no bearing on its 
merits, as some of the least attractive ones are the 
best. 

The most economical and efficient refrigeration oc- 
curs when the temperature of a refrigerator is below 
sixty degrees. The placing of provisions therein raises 
the temperature in proportion to the quantity, as do 
also the numerous openings of the doors, admitting 
warm air. 

There is no economy in buying small refrigerators. 
Many a person has purchased a small one only to be 
disappointed in its capacity, to soon discard it and buy 
a larger one. 

The price of a refrigerator varies somewhat as to the 
style. For instance, a refrigerator with three front 
doors will cost more than one with but two front doors. 
The interior construction must be considered when 
comparing prices. 

Porcelain and glass-lined interiors are best for the 
provision chambers, although a good hard non-rust- 
able metal is practical for the ice chamber. 

See that the interior of a refrigerator is as free from 
corners and joints as possible, so that it can be easily 
cleaned. 

A front door to the ice chamber allows the top of 
the refrigerator to serve as a shelf. This style can 
sometimes be placed under a shelf. 

Some refrigerators are made with a front and back 
door. The idea is to place the back of the refriger- 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 79 

ator to a window so that the ice can be put into the ice 
chamber from the outside of the house. 

Care of a Refrigerator — Like a stove, a refrigerator 
requires careful watching and particular care. 

See that the refrigerator is carefully cleaned before 
using. Then see that the drip pipe on the bottom is 
kept closed, preventing the air, sewer gas, or insects 
from entering the ice chamber through this pipe. It 
is advisable to look well to this point and prevent the 
unnecessary melting and waste of ice. If the drip trap 
on the bottom of the box is automatic, it will need 
no further attention than an occasional wiping out 
with a cloth. The drain pipe in the provision chamber 
should be easily removed and should be cleaned often 
to prevent its becoming clogged with dirt, which 
would force waste water back into the provision cham- 
ber of the refrigerator and would damage the con- 
tents. In case the ice should be consumed at any time 
and the refrigerator become warm, all of its contents 
should be removed and the refrigerator thoroughly 
cleaned and allowed to stand from twelve to eighteen 
hours after the ice chamber is filled before any food 
is placed in the provision chamber. Wash the ice 
clean, fill the ice chamber and keep it as near full as 
possible all of the time. To buy fifteen or twenty 
pounds of ice for a box with a seventy-five or one hun- 
dred pound capacity is not economy, as ice wastes 
rapidly in small pieces, without producing the proper 
result. Ice is usually sold in fifty or one hundred 



80 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

pound pieces. It is well to buy a box which will hold 
at least ninety or one hundred pounds ot ice. One can 
then buy titty pounds of ice at a time and have room 

for the piece that is usually left from the previous 
purchase, lu a DOX that contains hut fifty pounds it is 
necessary to let the ice melt almost entirely in order to 
have room tor a new tiltv pound piece. The Larger 
the piece of ice, the longer it will take for it to melt, 

therefore one may as well buy a Large refrigerator, 
and though more ice is necessary to start on, consid- 
eration should he given to the service that may he 
grained by the increased size o\ the provision chamber. 

Never allow the doors to remain open longer than 

necessary, or to he left slightly ajar. Never place 
warm provisions in the refrigerator nor keep them 
in the ice chamber. With a good refrigerator, ami 
Following these instructions, satisfaction will be ob- 
tained. 

The sweating oi a refrigerator is usually due to an 
atmospheric condition, as is the sweating of a water 

pipe, ami is no fault of the refrigerator or its con- 
tents. 

Window Refrigerators — Window refrigerators are 

small metal or wooden boxes which fasten to the out- 
side of a window and have a door which opens as 
the window is raised. They are acccssable from the 
inside only, and are valuable as a cooling place in the 
time of year when it would be extravagance to buy 
ice. 

FireleSS Cookers — From an economical standpoint, 



HOW TO I'.UY FURNITURE 81 

the fireless cookers or hay boxes, as ili (, y are some 
times called, are a greal boon to the housewife, and 
more of them should be used, if for no other reason 
than to diminii li the fuel expense. The pi in< iple of all 
fireless cookers is the same. They cool , nol from any 
heal force; thai are generated from within, as some 
people imagine, bul are constructed in such a mannei 
thai when anything hoi Is closed within them, the 
temperature remains aboul the same for hours. This 
will apply to the cooling of articles, as well as heal 
in--, all due to the system of packing within the cooker. 

The fireless cool er idea is nol a new one, simply an 
old idea pul into new clothes. We are told thai the 
Germans formerly used their feather beds for flic 
same purpose, and thai a heated vessel placed in the 
center of a hay stack will bring the same result, i 
cepl thai in the fireless i ooker the heated lids or radia 
tors which are placed beneath and above the vessels 
help still more to prolong the cooking by absorbing and 
holding the heat. They are packed with various kinds 
of fillings, such as asbestos, mineral wools, etc., all 
known for their heal retaining qualities. 

There are many cookers in the markel and each 
has some merit of construction nol found in others, 
and covered usually by a patenl right. Some have 
wood exteriors and some are of metal. One of the 
very essential things in buying a cooker is to gel one 
which will hold the heat, which necessitates patenl 
locking, tighl fitting lids; for thai rea on a metal con- 
struction exterior is recommended, as the moisture 
6 



82 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

from the heat can not easily warp the lids or cause 
them to pull apart at the joints, thereby opening a way 
for the heat to escape. 

Cookers are made with from one to three or four 
compartments and some have compartments with 
double or triplicate pails, enabling three things to be 
cooked at the same time in one compartment over one 
burner. They are usually equipped with pure alumi- 
num cooking utensils which are rust proof and guar- 
anteed. 

Every kitchen should have a fireless cooker, and 
the amount expended for one is a small matter when 
the labor, time and fuel-saving is considered, besides 
giving people a change in diet from fried foods. 

Most reliable cookers may be had on a thirty days' 
trial, and thus all defects which may possibly arise 
from poor workmanship will be exposed, enabling one 
to thoroughly test the cooker before buying. 



CHAPTER VII 

Dining Room — Modern Finishes — The dining room 
is one of the most important rooms in the house and 
should be treated with much thought and care. The 
popular fumed oak finish is very practical and is grow- 
ing in favor daily, although the early English is a good 
finish, as is also the beautiful flaked quartered golden 
oak. With the exception of the several mahogany fin- 
ishes, these three just named are practically all that 
go into the modern dining room. The darker finishes, 
early English and fumed oak, are mostly used in the 
straight line effects such as arts and crafts or so-called 
mission lines. The golden oak finishes at present run 
to colonial and claw foot designs, and will no doubt 
always be staple 

In mahogany, the period furniture designs pre- 
dominate, with the colonial in the lead, while the 
Sheraton is a close second. English ideas present 
suits in the stained oaks and are growing in demand. 
Any of these make a handsome setting for a room. 

Dining Tables — When planning for the dining 
table, be sure the size of the table is known before 
buying the table linen. The size of the dining room 
must be considered before one can determine the size 
of table wanted. Round pedestal tables measuring 

83 



84 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

forty-eight or fifty-four inches in diameter when 
closed, are most in demand. Such tables are provided 
with pedestal locks which allow an extension of the 
top to six feet without pulling the base of the table 
apart. In the period styles a great many leg tables 
are used. The table most in demand is that which 
measures eight feet when extended. Tables can be 
had in lengths up to and including twelve feet. Some 
are so made that the tops may be easily removed in 
halves, a nice feature when moving. Metal pins are 
best for the leaves or fillers, as they are stronger 
and more secure than wooden pins, and overcome 
the fault of the leaves binding and the edges splitting 
when placed next to and adjoining each other. It is 
sometimes necessary to leave one of the fillers or 
leaves in the table, and at a little extra cost, leaves may 
be had with small aprons on the end which drop and 
continue the rim of the table, in which the unsightly 
break ordinarily appears. The finer tables usually 
have these features, which prove a valuable asset when 
doilies are used. 

Tabic Pads — Every table should have a table pad to 
go under the cloth, to prevent marring the top by hot 
dishes or by the accidental spilling of liquids. To se- 
lect a table mat is no easy problem, as there are about 
fifty different kinds of pads on the market. Asbestos 
table pads are the most numerous and are very satis- 
factory. Asbestos will, however, absorb moisture and 
consequently will hold any liquid which might be 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 85 

spilled on the table. Such pads are liable to stick to 
the table when anything hot is placed on them, and 
especially so in damp weather, as they absorb moisture. 
Although asbestos is fireproof, it will contain and hold 
heat. 

Cork is the greatest insulator of heat known. The 
next is felt, made from hemp straw. After that comes 
the "wool felt," which in most table pads is used with 
a liner of asbestos. 

Buy a table pad which is liquid proof over the entire 
surface and at the joints, made so by an oil cloth or 
imitation leather top. This kind can be washed, which 
is absolutely essential to cleanliness, and if anything is 
spilled it will not ruin the beautifully finished table by 
going through the mat. Sections of mats to cover the 
leaves can be procured, in case a leaf or two is neces- 
sary to secure a greater length. They also help to 
produce a perfectly even surface. 

Buffets and China Cabinets — Occasionally side- 
boards and china cabinets are built in the dining room, 
but if it be necessary to buy such articles the following 
will be of value. 

Buffets are preferable to sideboards. 

When comparing prices it is very essential that 
every detail be taken into consideration. Consider the 
length of the case and the depth. If a case is fifty-four 
inches long it must necessarily cost more than one but 
forty-eight inches, providing they are of the same pat- 
tern. If the front and top are all quartered oak it 



86 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

will cost more than a case with quartered oak front 
and a plain oak top. One built close to the floor must 
ordinarily cost more than one built high from the floor. 
Observe all dimensions of a case and all of the detail 
work, such as cross band veneering on the many ob- 
scure places ; examine the locks and keys and see 
whether or not they are strong and of good size. The 
number of compartments and drawers will be another 
source of expense ; count them and examine the in- 
terior to see whether or not the drawers are subdivided. 
Some buffets have loose silverware trays which rest 
in the drawers. Others have secret drawers, etc. The 
size of the mirror has much to do with the price, as 
has also the detail interior work, such as the refinishing 
of the drawer slides, etc. It is an easy matter to get 
a low-priced buffet which will fill certain wall space, 
but when superior workmanship is considered it must 
be paid for, and will return its value in service long 
after the other low-priced case has gone to pieces. 

It is well to examine the feet of these cases, and 
especially of a china cabinet. See that they are very 
securely fastened, or a costly accident may occur after 
the dishes are in the case. 

If a china cabinet has bent glass doors and end 
glasses, interior mirror backing, and glass shelves, the 
price will be much more than one with flat doors and 
ends, and no mirror backing, and no glass shelves. 
See that the china cabinet doors are dust proof by 
having the doors to fit over the casing. Many fail 
to consider the reasons for the cost, and may easily 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 87 

misjudge the concern that sells the article as too high 
priced unless careful scrutiny is used. 

Dishes. — Some hesitate in using their best dishes 
for every day. The under-glazed domestic ware would 
be sure to give practical service for daily use, as the 
glazing serves the same purpose as varnish on wood 
or lacquer on a bed, and preserves the decoration. Such 
sets will be found inexpensive. 

Dining Chairs — A box seat dining chair is the best. 
Leather or expensive tapestries are the best coverings. 
Hand made rush seats are good also, but when they be- 
gin to break they are liable to tear the clothing. 
Tacked-011 leather seats are not as expensive or as 
attractive as the slip-leather seat, but are very service- 
able. The cane seats are very good but not as popular 
as in the past. The flat wood and cobbler seats are in 
the lower classes. The saddle wood seat is very popu- 
lar in the medium grade of chairs and gets its name 
from, its saddle-like appearance. 

Dining chairs are usually sold in sets of six. A set 
of box seat chairs, however, usually contains five 
straight chairs and an arm chair, and where room af- 
fords this is recommended. People in small quarters 
sometimes make a mistake in buying but four chairs of 
a set, with the intention of buying the others later, and 
are sometimes disappointed, as the pattern is often 
obsolete when they are ready to buy. It is policy to 
buy the full set at a time. The extra chairs can be 
used in other parts of the house or stored away. If 
a full set is not desired it is better to buy a few odd 



88 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

chairs which could he used temporarily, and later 
placed in another part oi the house, when a full set 
is bought. 

The polished finished chair is about ten to fifteen per 
cent, higher in price than the gloss finish. The gloss 
finish is simply a varnish applied with the brush, while 
the polish finish is hand rubbed. 

In selecting a box seat chair, select one that is 
well braced under each corner of the seat, by screws 
and glue blocks, or braced inwardly. The back posts 
of a chair should run through to the floor and not 
terminate at the seat, if strength is desired. Bent back 
posts are better than sawed out posts and not so liable 
to break or work loose at the joints and squeak when 
the chair is pushed back with force, as when one 
throws the entire weight on the back legs by leaning 
back. In the medium grade chairs, a brace running 
from the back posts to the seats, adds wonderfully to 
the durability of the chair. If a chair is represented 
as oak. see that it is oak. Of all important things in 
a chair, the posts should be all oak to insure strength, 
as the first place for a chair to wank loose is at the point 
where the seat joins the back posts, and when they 
weaken there it is almost impossible to properly re- 
pair them. For this reason elm is not a good wood for 
chair posts as it is too soft to hold screws securely. 
Spindle back chairs are not as comfortable as the slat 
or banister back chairs. Chairs with the back post 
concealed behind a top banister make a better appear- 
ance than those exposing the full length of the post. 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 89 

Stretchers running from post to post below the seat 
reinforce the chairs, although in a box seat chair 
there are not as many used as in the less expensive 
chairs, where the more there are used the better, owing 
to the inferior construction. 

Bent wood chairs have their place in the dining 
room and are highly recommended. They are strong 
and light in weight. The different parts are made 
from wood that is steamed and bent and thoroughly 
dried, after which the parts are assembled. If made of 
oak, these chairs are very durable. 

In matching up a complete suit in the higher grade 
of dining room furniture, many miscellaneous 
pieces may be had to match the suits exactly in material 
and finish, such as serving trays, tea wagons, muffin 
stands, candlestick holders, etc. 

Chair Glides — Owing to the fact that chairs of all 
kinds are dragged more or less from place to place, 
and pushed around, they mar the floor or wear the 
carpet, this also being a strain on the chair. Every 
straight leg chair should be fitted with metal glides, 
which help in a great measure to overcome that diffi- 
culty, and the additional cost is hardly worth mention- 
ing. 



CHAPTER VIII 

Living Room — As time moves on the home and its 
furnishings must necessarily change. The building of 

new homes, at present, does away with the old fash- 
ioned parlor and now we have in its stead the livi 
room, which is as large, usually, as the former old- 

ihioned double parlor. The best furniture of the 
home, the most comfortable and the handsomest, is for 
the living- room, where the family gather, after a busy 
day or week, for pleasure and relaxation. 

Many complete - tn be had for the living room, 

comprising tables, rockers, easy chairs, book-cases, 
desks, couches waste-baskets, and foot-stools. These 
suites run from six p eees up to twenty-rive and thirty. 

Rocking Chairs — The runners of some rockers are 
too short and consequently stop the motion too abruptly 
to be comfortable. The back, arms, cushions, etc.. 
should all be th< c rrect shape and height It is very 
difficult to judge a rocker by looking Some 

rockers are comfortable for some persons and not for 
others. Chairs may vary somewhat in the tilting posi- 
tion : for that reason it is host to sit in a chair bef 
pic .'.'. an advantage that can not be had when 

buying from a picture. If a rocker has a spring seat, 
notice the number of springs, whether five or seven or 
more. Turn up the rocker and look under the seat. 

90 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 91 

Notice the way they are fastened together and into 
the rocker seat. 

The quality of upholstery should have careful con- 
sideration. Leather of first quality (see chapter on 
leather) is fine grained and very pliahle ; if second 
grade it will he coarser grained and not as pliahle, and 
if of still lower grade it will he stiffer and very harsh 
to the touch. The last grade is not good at any price, 
and one should be very cautious in buying even the 
second grade. 

Notice whether the runners are securely glued into 
the chair posts or whether they are fastened with nails 
or screws from the bottom. As strength is a vital con- 
sideration, see that the rear posts of a rocker run from 
the runners up through the seat and form a part of the 
back, and that the front posts run from the runners up 
through the seat and fasten into the arms in the front. 
Spindle back rockers are not as comfortable as are 
those with panel backs. Notice whether the arms of 
the rockers are fastened on with a screw through the 
back post and a couple of spindles running to the seat, 
or whether they are more substantially built by being 
jointed to the front post which runs from the rocker 
runner up to the arm, and see also that the arm is run 
into and flush with the back post. Large, high backed 
chairs and rockers make good living room furniture, 
and many Morris chairs are used in the living rooms, 
as well as the adjustable back kind, or the kind with 
the seat and back which work automatically The dis- 
appearing foot rest, which slides out and provides a 



9-' HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

perfect rest for the feet and then slides back out of 
sight when not in use, is attached to many of these 
chairs. A newspaper basket which is sometimes used 
for sewing or smoking materials is often concealed in 
these foot rests. Many of the patent Morris chairs are 
very satisfactory and comfortable. In buying chairs of 
any kind the plain upholstered ones will save much 
labor for the housekeeper. 

The large Turkish rockers which were so popular 
until recently arc being displaced with the more at- 
tractive English styles with smaller loose cushion seats 
and backs. 

Davenports — The most luxurious davenports are 
made with deep crucible springs, with many hand tied 
cords, over which is placed an abundance of tow and 
hair. Over this foundation they are upholstered. 
Many springs are used in the backs and in the ends, 
as well as in the seats of these davenports. The best 
of skilled labor is employed to make them as soft as 
possible., and yet so substantially built that they will 
wear for years. Relative to the upholstering on such 
goods it may be well to suggest that those desiring 
good furniture at a minimum cost will profit by pur- 
chasing such goods with the inexpensive covering, 
such as denim, and years later have the article uphol- 
stered in a better grade of covering. The idea is to get 
the initial investment in the structure and not in the 
covering. Davenports are made less expensive In- 
using lower priced material and can be bought for al- 
most any price. They are made in all of the grades of 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 93 

imitation leathers and soft goods, such as velours, 
plushes, tapestries, ets. The under construction can 
usually be seen by lifting up the end of the davenport. 
This may be troublesome but is really important. On 
most of the Turkish stationary davenports, however, 
the bottom is usually covered with a cambric. 

Bed davenports are used a great deal in living rooms. 
They have the appearance of an ordinary daven- 
port and can be easily converted into a bed. The auto- 
matic bed davenport lets the back down and necessi- 
tates the making of the bed on top of the davenport 
seat, or cushion. The most satisfactory bed davenport 
is the one with the spring and mattress on the inside 
and is independent of the outer cushions ; in other 
words, an "inner bed." When wanted as a bed, the 
davenport is opened and the inner bed is always ready 
for use as it also contains the bedding. Such beds 
require no extra storing of bedding, although 
some contain the box below the seat, which can be 
used for storage. These beds are really comfortable 
and very practical, and some are very simple in con- 
struction. 

The closer the springs are placed the greater 
will be the strength of the davenport ; consequently, 
take note of how many springs are used and see how 
they are fastened together and to the frame. Shake 
the ends of the davenport, thus testing them to see how 
rigid they are. 

For lack of space in some rooms the regular length 
davenport is too large. Those desiring a short bed 



94 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

davenport can find it. It opens with a jackknife mo- 
tion and makes a regular sized bed when opened, and 
is highly recommended and is becoming popular. 

Sanitary Couches — These are also in great demand. 
With a mattress and a couch cover they have the 
appearance of a regular couch and are very prac- 
tical. They serve as a couch and, in an emergency, 
can be converted into a full size bed by simply rais- 
ing each side to a level with the couch proper. Some 
are made with a back. Any of them, if well con- 
structed, make a comfortable bed, and are inexpen- 
sive. There are various other makes of sanitary 
couches which open automatically into full sized beds 
and make more perfect beds although more expensive 
than the kind mentioned above. 

Examine the casters of such couches. If they are 
riveted to the feet they can not be replaced as easily 
as a socket caster. 

The life of such a couch depends on the way the 
fabric in the top is attached to the framework. Many 
small tempered coil springs should be the connecting 
links. In some instances there are but a few, while 
the better couches have many of these helicals. Under 
the fabric top and in the center will be found sup- 
ports, sometimes two rows, sometimes more, the more 
the better. 

Couches — Couches are frequently used in living 
rooms and are constructed much the same as daven- 
ports. The greater the width of a couch the more com- 
fortable it will be. See that the feet of a couch or 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 95 

davenport are large enough to securely retain the 
casters, and see that the blocks in which the casters 
fit are of such size that they will not be liable to 
break out. Notice how the couch legs are fastened 
on, with nail, thumbscrew or nut, or more securely 
blocked and glued. 

Living Room Tables — Living room tables with 
round or oval tops are the most practical, although 
many people use a rectangular table, such as a library 
table. 

The circular, pedestal base tables, without a drawer, 
seem to be growing in demand, except where rooms 
are large enough for complete suites, in which case a 
davenport and rectangular table are sometimes placed 
back to back in the center of the room. 

Straight Chairs — Many wood-seat chairs are used in 
a living room and these should be well braced and 
constructed. 

Arts and Crafts Construction — Construction in liv- 
ing room furniture, especially in the arts and crafts 
lines, is a very important factor. In some of the 
most desirable chairs the stretchers, seat rails and 
back slats are mortised, tenoned and pinned. After 
this is done all of the parts of the chairs are clamped 
together under a high pressure which insures tight 
joints and adds necessary strength. Seating pieces 
have nicely fitted corner blocks which are glued and 
screwed, thus adding to their strength. These can 
be seen by upturning a chair or rocker. The arms 
of chairs are usually subjected to severe tests and 



96 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

if the back slats are set in and pinned with wooden 
pins to the back post, a rigid setting is insured. 
Front chair posts with a tenon cut on them and mor- 
tised through the arms and securely fastened with a 
wooden pin driven through the arm and in the post, 
make a firm construction. 

There are other structural devices which are orna- 
mental as well as strong; for example, when the 
stretcher of the table is mortised through the leg and 
left projecting on the opposite side, held in place by 
a wooden pin driven through both leg and stretcher, 
or when a table stretcher is mortised through the leg 
and a wooden key is driven through the outside end. 
In some of the cheaper furniture the appearance may 
be the same, but close scrutiny will reveal the fact that 
the projection does not go through the table leg, but 
is a piece of wood bradded on. This is sometimes 
done on the arms of chairs to give the impression 
that the post goes through the arm. 

Wherever surfaces are exposed, it is important to 
have as perfect glue joints as possible. The tongue 
and groove joints indicate a groove as cut into each 
piece and a strip of wood called a tongue is so placed 
that it enters both grooves when the pieces are joined 
and glued. The "V" joint is a groove cut into one 
piece and a ridge that fits the groove left on the 
other piece. They are clamped together in large glue 
presses. 



CHAPTER IX 

Bedroom — Modern Finishes — It has been well said 
that "nowadays people know the price of everything 
and the value of nothing." This may be especially ap- 
plied to the selecting of bedroom furniture. Furniture 
has, at times, been quoted at exceedingly low prices, 
but such quotations mean very little. When construc- 
tion is considered, it goes back to the old text, "What 
is really worth while, costs." Bedroom furniture re- 
ceives hard service and should be purchased with ex- 
traordinary care. 

Furniture for the bedroom is made of all woods, 
but those most popular are the golden oak, Circassian 
walnut, and mahogany, although white enamel and 
bird's-eye maple are used extensively, and in the mis- 
sion designs the fumed oak again leads. An article that 
is properly enameled must receive many coats to in- 
sure durability ; this the low grade enameled furniture 
lacks, owing to the fact that factories that make the 
low grade pieces have not the necessary facilities. 

Dressers, etc. — Many points should be considered 
and carefully examined, in selecting a really good bed- 
room article, as even an experienced person may easily 
be mistaken. The features which should be most con- 
sidered are often overlooked. When buying bedroom 

97 
7 



98 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

goods such as a dresser, chiffonier, dressing table, or 
a princess dresser, be careful to take time to examine 
the interior construction as well as the exterior. Some 
case goods are made for show only, some are made 
for service, and some with both of these qualities com- 
bined. Modern case work, especially for the bedroom 
and dining room, is being made "dust proof" by means 
of an extra thin partition under each drawer. This 
prevents dust from accumulating in the drawers. Exam- 
ine the drawer construction by pulling the drawers 
out of the case, also look at the slides of the 
drawers to see that they slide in and out without bind- 
ing. A good case, well finished, will have the drawers 
mortised and tenoned and not merely tacked or dove- 
tailed. All of these features do not necessarily mean 
that the drawer will not bind, as the very best furni- 
ture may at times give trouble along that line, espe- 
cially during a rainy season. 

The following hint may be valuable in case a drawer 
binds so it will not open. Obtain a brace and bit, and 
bore a hole through the back of the case at either end 
directly opposite the unruly drawer, using care to not 
bore into the drawer, since there are two or three inches 
between the back of the case and the drawer. Insert 
a round stick first in one hole, then the other, striking 
it gently with a hammer. The drawer will then be 
loosened and can be removed and planed off to fit more 
freely. 

It might be here suggested that dents or bruises in 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 99 

furniture may sometimes be drawn out by applying a 
piece of wet blotter, and letting it lie for several hours 
on the damaged spot. 

In comparing values, consider the length and breadth 
of a case. If a case is all genuine quartered oak, it is 
worth more than one that has the top of quartered 
oak with plain sawed ends. If of solid mahogany, it 
will cost more than a case with a mahogany top and 
birch ends. If the interior is mahogany, it will cost 
more than one with an inside of some other wood. 
As stated before, the quality determines the price, 
always, and every piece of wood and nail and glue- 
joint is accounted for, whether of inferior material or 
of superior grades; and necessarily the better grades 
demand a greater price, but the greater length of serv- 
ice repays one for the additional cost. 

If there is a mirror on the case which is being se- 
lected, consider its size and quality. Get a good 
American or French plate and do not get a mirror that 
will distort the reflection. Beveled edge mirrors cost 
more than those with plain edges. Pull the dresser 
away from the wall and examine the backing of the 
mirror and ascertain whether it is pasteboard or nicely 
finished wood. Some backings of mirrors are put on 
with small screws or nicely finished tacks, while others 
are tacked on with light brads, which are not as se- 
cure. 

Notice whether the mirror frame is attached to the 
dresser standard by weak hinges, or whether it is fas- 



ioo HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

tened by long screws with wooden or metal ends which 
go through the standard and into the mirror frame, 
thus insuring better strength and improved appearance. 

Bedroom Desks — Ladies' desks for bedrooms are of 
two patterns, the drop lid and the open flat top desk 
with drawers for stationery on the top. These are 
very useful and add much to the appearance of a room. 

Dressing Tables — Dressing tables with triplicate 
mirrors are not the most desirable unless the mirrors 
are very large, as with a hand mirror a person may 
be able to use the single mirrors as well or to even 
better advantage. 

Cheval Mirrors — Cheval or full length dressing mir- 
rors should be in every home where room and money 
will afford. The kind with a swivel or turning base is 
the most practical, affording a better angle with the 
light. Cheval mirrors vary in price in proportion to 
the height and width. Every woman who does her 
own sewing will find these a great help in the hanging 
or fitting of a skirt. 

Bedroom Chairs — Bedroom chairs consist usually of 
a small low chair, a rocker, and an arm chair. Some 
prefer the low slipper chair and rocker, and others buy 
only a slipper chair and use it with their other chairs. 
The cane seat chairs are very serviceable and may 
be of enameled cane, which may be washed and cleaned 
with soap and water. 

The low back dressing table chair, which is being 
sold with almost every dressing table, is made to slip 
under the dressing table and not mar the view of the 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 101 

table and its attractive mirror and nicely trimmed top. 
All bedroom chairs can be had in any of the popular 
woods. 

In very large bedrooms, where floor space is of 
no particular value, the large chairs and rockers with 
slip-over cretonnes and fancy decorated slips may be 
used to match the bedspreads, curtains and decorative 
surroundings. 

Plate Glass Tops — Plate glass tops are becoming 
popular, especially for bedroom furniture. These 
tops serve as a protection to the beautifully grained 
wood tops. They are also good for decorative pur- 
poses, as fancy cretonne or other materials, matching 
the wall papers and hangings, can be used under the 
glass on top of the dresser or bedroom piece, thus 
completing the color scheme. 

In time, no doubt, all case goods for bedrooms will 
be furnished with glass tops. Glass tops for office 
desks are indispensable, as references, price list, etc., 
can be slipped under them and are always in view and 
at hand. 

Casters — See that the casters are of good quality 
and notice how they are attached to the case or to the 
beds. If a wheel of a caster breaks, it may do many 
dollars' worth of damage to the carpet or floor, besides 
causing much annoyance. A drop of machine oil 
should be occasionally applied to casters and locks. It 
will prevent sqeeaking and will prolong their use- 
fulness. 

Locks — The locks are also an important feature. 



102 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

They should work easily and be of sufficient size to be 
of service equal to the life of the case they are on. 

Beds — The bed question is a major one in the fur- 
nishing of the home. There are many ideas as to what 
constitutes a good bed and many more as to what is 
good style, as beds are made of so many different ma- 
terials and into many different shapes. 

Iron beds of to-day are substantial and, from a sani- 
tary standpoint, are very much better than the old- 
fashioned wooden beds with their panel work. A plain 
bed with very little filigree is the best to choose. How- 
ever, if necessary to pay fifteen or twenty dollars for 
a bed, one could better buy a brass bed. In the 
higher grade beds the wooden beds are very much in 
demand, both in flat end beds and roll Napoleon beds, 
and especially the post beds. Brass beds will, no doubt, 
be in vogue for many years, as the demand is con- 
stantly increasing, but the demand is more for the 
satin, or dull, and the polet finish than for the bright 
or polish finish. 

Brass FiuisJies — The "satin" finish is a dull brush 
finish all over the bed. In the "polet" finish the entire 
surface is given a satin finish with the exception of 
the pillar mounts, knobs and other trimmings, which 
are given a bright finish. This rich contrast makes the 
polet finish very popular. The "polished'' or "bright" 
finish is polished or bright all over. 

Brass Beds — There is perhaps nothing in the market 
that has been abused more than the selling of brass 
beds. Many manufacturers in order to make the brass 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 103 

bed an example of low price have forced the price 
down to meet the competition and the quality has been 
sacrificed to meet the price. In lowering the quality, 
then, the consumer has not been benefited one iota, 
neither has he been deceived, for he has not been 
charged the higher price, neither has he received the 
higher quality. 

When considering the price of a bed the thing of 
most importance is the weight of brass used, whether 
it is of solid brass tubing or veneer tubing. But few 
know the difference. The solid brass tubing is, beyond 
question, the better, but is much higher priced. A solid 
brass tube bed is never advertised for $9.98, as you, no 
doubt, have seen the veneer tube bed quoted. The low- 
est price on a plain solid brass tube bed of any kind 
is about $25. Nevertheless, a very attractive, and in- 
deed serviceable, bed can be purchased for $25 in the 
veneered tubing. 

A veneer tube bed is one in which the case tubing 
is bent to conform to the post of the bed, and can be 
detected by the seam at the back part of the brass 
posts and tubes. 

These beds are very practical indeed, and are being 
brought out each year in more handsome designs. 
They will wear for years, with the proper care, and 
are not nearly as high in price as the solid brass bed. 

It is impossible to bend the veneer casing, and, for 
that reason, where a bent piece is used on a bed as, 
for instance, a continuous head and foot, it must be a 
solid tubing and the price will be noticeably higher. 



104 HOW rO BUY FURNITURE 

brass used i - es as to the si i 
of the tubing used. The smaller the diameter 
tubing or fillers, th< ess the w< ..coded to make it 
si 
In c ass beds it is necessary 

siz< . sts, th< lumber of rods or fillers used, 

their respective s es, an el . of ven< 
ing, 

A g . \ points in . on of beds 

i tig ted S m< an ast< i 
'■\ led in e es nse- 

ust Ivw a bed - - - may not - 
ssible, but som< 
eds are put togeth* 

i • Is wil 

\\ hich - thus ] 

venting them from g ■ osc 

Square 1 s cos I tube beds 

. erial costs 

f . It is 
ts 

brass ' . 
varnish has to wood. It y 
ere has be< 

. 5, DUl as 

ers hav< been a c i i success 

Neither is it 

to th< ng brass will ev< 

e lacqu< - i 



HOW TO Bin? FURNITURE [05 

will also wear the surface through, When the lacquer 
is off of a bed, the finish will not last and nothing will 
renew i( except to send the bed to a factory and have 
it go through the regular process of lacquering. This 
can be done to any brass bed ;it a reasonable cost. A 
good lacquer, therefore, is very essential. 

Clothes Tree Brass costumers or clothes racks are 
very practical for the bedroom and can he had with a 
cluster o\ many hooks, or a few hooks. Some are 
inexpensive, owing altogether to the weight of the 
hr;iss and the number of hooks attached, and whether 
or not an umbrella rack is provided in connection with 
the COStumer. When fitted with the latter, they arc 
sometimes used in halls. 

Wood costumers are much less expensive and serve 
the purpose as well and can he had in :tnv finish to 
conform with the furniture used. 

./ Brass Cleanser — A receipt for a polish to clean 
brass beds is sometimes asked for. If possible keep 
the moist hands off of brass beds, by using a cloth 
when handling them. When the beds are fly-specked or 
need a little brightening, plain olive oil applied with 
a chamois or a soft cloth, and rubbed with dry chamois 
skin will prove very beneficial. 

Wooden, roster, and Bungalow Beds — Wood beds 
of the Napoleon style with veneer roll head and foot 
ends are very much in vogue, also the straight line 
square stock beds in all finishes. 

Four poster beds, which are often copies of antique 
beds, in mahog-any and imitation mahogany as well 



106 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

as the brass poster beds, are to be found in all well- 
selected stocks of furniture. 

Bungalow beds with a low head and foot are grow- 
ing in demand, in all finishes and materials. 

The price of wood beds will vary according to the 
quality of material used. If a solid mahogany bed is 
desired it will be more expensive than a bed with 
posts of some other material, and panels of mahogany. 

Twin Beds — Twin, or individual, beds are highly 
recommended, for the reason that no two people have 
the same temperament. Of two people sleeping to- 
gether one is sure to be warmer than the other, there- 
fore should not have the same weight of bed clothing, 
or one is stronger, physically, or probably more rest- 
less than the other. 

As health is to have the most consideration at all 
stages of life, the price should not interfere. Twin 
beds will cost almost twice as much as one regular- 
sized bed. They come in different widths ; some are 
three feet wide, but a better size is three feet six inches, 
or if the room will allow it, a bed four feet wide is still 
better. 

The bed should be selected before the bed-clothes are 
purchased, otherwise the clothing may be too large, 
especially if a smaller bed is decided upon. 

Bed Springs — Spring beds are now looked upon as 
a necessity in every home and still some are careless as 
to the selection of springs and mattresses. This care- 
lessness is usuallv the result of lack of education as to 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 107 

what really constitutes a good outfit. People some- 
times buy fine bedroom furniture and then remember at 
the last moment that a spring and mattress are needed, 
and resort to almost any kind, regardless of the quality, 
to complete the bed. In some cases they do not even 
take the pains to look at the spring and mattress. 
These should be the most essential things on a bed 
and should be the first to be considered when buy- 
ing a bedroom outfit. No man realizes the great ad- 
vantage and comfort of a really good bed until he 
has one for himself. Eight out of twenty-four hours, 
or one-third of life, is spent in bed, and it is during 
this sleep that a person recreates the energy expended 
during the other sixteen hours. An old spring that sags 
in the center like a hammock, should be discarded 
and replaced by a good one. It is stated that kidney 
trouble is frequently caused by a sagging bedspring. 

Many do not get a really comfortable spring until 
they make their second or third purchase. 

The best material used for bed springs is crucible 
spring steel. It is used in clocks and watch springs 
and in almost all springs that require elasticity and 
durability. Bessemer steel is softer, with a great deal 
less elasticity. In purchasing a spring made of cru- 
cible steel the best quality is secured. 

There are many fabrics in bed springs, such as 
woven wire, link and slat fabric, all of which are good, 
but a really good crucible steel spiral spring will give 
as good satisfaction as anything that can be purchased. 

Box Mattresses — Box mattresses are still being used, 



108 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

but for the sake of sanitation the box spring with a 
removable padded top and slip cover that fastens to 
the frame of the spring is recommended by the best 
stores. The slip may be taken off and the padded top 
removed, and all easily cleaned and replaced. A cover 
made to slip over and lace around any bed spring af- 
fords an inexpensive and sanitary cover. The only 
means of cleaning a box spring mattress is to send it 
to a renovator, which is rather expensive. 

Mattresses — So much can be said on this subject that 
whole books could be written regarding the construc- 
tion and quality of mattresses. While showing the 
interior of a mattress to a customer a salesman had 
occasion to speak of the felting process through which 
the cotton passes in manufacturing mattresses. The 
customer was surprised to find the interior to be cot- 
ton, as she wanted a "felt" mattress and thought she 
would get a felted mattress resembling the wool felt 
she had seen in felt cloth. Thousands do not know the 
difference and will not admit it, and rather than be 
enlightened on the subject will usually buy what they 
think they can afford. 

There are very few matttresses made that contain 
the best grade of cotton, for the reason that it is too 
expensive to put into mattresses and is used for the 
manufacture of cloth. After the best is selected, the 
balance called "linters" is collected and put into mat- 
tresses. Most mattresses, then, are made from linters. 

After the cotton is taken from the cotton bolls, the 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 109 

seed is removed from the fibre and there still adheres 
to the seed a short hairy fibre. This seed is reginned 
(usually at the cotton seed oil mills) and the short 
fibre cotton is known as "linters," and sells at about 
half the price of regular cotton, which accounts for the 
low price of cotton mattresses. 

The seed from the upland or Sea Island cotton 
(the long fibre cotton) yields no linters. These seeds 
are known as bald or "Peterkin" seed. 

After the linters are gathered they are assorted and 
the better grades go through a process termed "felt- 
ing," producing fluffy layers as used in the cotton felt 
mattresses. The felt mattresses do not get lumpy or 
knot up as might those made of picked cotton that 
is put into a bag and sewed up. 

There are good, bad and indifferent grades of 
linters, owing to the condition of the cotton when 
picked and the treatment of seed after ginning and 
before being reginned at the oil mill. Cotton seed 
heats and moulds when stored away, sometimes caus- 
ing a disagreeable odor, which is noticeable in the 
lower and poorer grades of linters. Hence, the advis- 
ability of selecting good grades of linters in mattresses. 

The bleaching of cotton is not especially advisable, 
as it tends to age the fibre since the natural oil of the 
cotton (which is from .25 to 1.25 per cent, weight of 
the fibre) is attacked and the real life of the fibre is 
removed, thus causing it to break and crumble more 
readily. There is, therefore, no advantage in bleach- 



no HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

ing cotton except for the sake of appearance, and as the 
inner side of a mattress is not exposed while in use, it 
is not essential. 

As said before, a good mattress and spring make the 
life of the bed, so be sure to get a good outfit ; it will 
pay in the end. 

Inferior Mattresses — The excelsior or husk mattress 
with a cheap ticking, and a light cotton padding on one 
side, called a "cotton top" mattress, is a low priced 
article. A little better grade is made with the same 
body, but with a slightly better grade of ticking, and 
both sides cotton, instead of only one side. This is 
called a "combination" or "reversible" mattress. Then 
there is the sea moss mattress and also the cheap wool 
mattress. Beware of this mattress as the filling is usu- 
ally waste or rags or sweepings from the floors of 
clothing factories. All of these may be under special 
fancy names and special tickings, but the grade of the 
mattresses will be about the same in every store. If 
one owns such a mattress, it is not policy to send it to a 
renovator to be cleaned, as a new one will cost less, 
and likely the renovator would throw the old mat- 
tress away and send a new one in its place. 

In judging cotton-felted mattresses the cotton with 
the longest fibre will give the greatest satisfaction. 

Silk Floss Mattresses — Silk floss is playing an im- 
portant part in the mattress business and those made 
of this material sell for about the same price as the 
better grade of felted mattresses. Silk floss is the 
product of the Kapok tree of the East and West Indies. 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE in 

It is known botanically as the "Eriodendron anfrac- 
tuosum," or species of the cotton tree and is related 
to the cotton plant. Owing to its oily nature, it is non- 
absorbent, which makes it very healthful and especially 
practical in a wet season or climate. This flossy tree 
wool is very soft and fluffy, and makes light soft mat- 
tresses. A mattress of silk floss weighing but 
thirty pounds will be as thick as a felted mattress of 
cotton weighing forty-five pounds, a point that should 
appeal wonderfully to a person who has charge of the 
dressing of the beds. It is also used in life preservers, 
owing to its light weight and buoyancy. 

In buying silk floss mattresses, beware of those made 
of part silk floss and part some other material. Other 
fibres and down from plants are used in mattress mak- 
ing, but silk floss is the best. 

Hair Mattresses — Many prefer hair mattresses and 
claim that they are more healthful. However, a strong 
argument in favor of cotton felted and silk floss mat- 
tresses is that they are more healthful, since vegetable 
fibres can not carrv diseases from dead animals. Hair 
mattresses are made from the hair of various animals 
such as hogs, and tails of cows and horses. The hair 
ranges in length from one inch to two feet, conse- 
quently the price of a hair mattress varies according to 
the quality of hair used and the number of pounds con- 
tained in the mattress. Often hair is mixed with a 
fibre and sold as an all hair mattress, but in time it will 
become lumpy and unsatisfactory. The best grade of 
hair goes through a process of sterilizing and purify- 



112 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

ing , goes attress, there 

trouble ever arises from its use 

jss deception has be* 
past, but we owe thanks :: some sta - Ecu this 

hich make it a crimina" 
mattresses t . e lefin - 

- ts thai :he 

s a splenc there- 

by el iting - 
i 

nds ge i I . - ls is not gen- 

d ess s I be turne 

twice sast 

ek. If the weather ts, it si 

of doors, 

i the sons - e there 

5 g asides iss she aid 

:i both sides 
from corners or s iters 

it was 
r 
ar s loss spring 

Not s ic with the 

infer r grades tresses *h airing and 

sons ."ill do them great good ?>>es > 

ted eve urs ii ant 

En I ■■■•: be : ' exa etions. ? :•.:>: 

ace amnlatc ins Ic die matt ss ig nd adhere to 

the c i is I b e ml thin * dial 

sjhl 1 de 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 113 

Pillows — It is impossible to see what is inside of a 

pillow tick when it is sewed ; so one must place con- 
fidence in the merchant from whom pillows are pur- 
chased. Pillows oi all descriptions are put on the 
market, from the commonest chicken quilled feather 
to the finest quilless goose down, made up in the cheap- 
est tick to the finest art or linen tick. For the pur- 
pose of making a matched outfit, most mattress man- 
ufacturers make pillows to match the ticking used 
on the mattresses. Pillow factories have complete im- 
proved steam renovators through which all feathers are 
run before they are made into pillows, a process of 
stripping the feather of quills, another oi assorting the 
feathers and down, to he made into different qualities 
of pillows. The light weight pillows are usually made 
of the finest goose down, which can he recognized by 
the great resiliency the pillows seem to have when one 
presses hard upon them. Those made of feathers are 
heavier, so that by comparing the weight one can 
usually judge the better from the cheaper grades. The 
quills of the feathers of the inferior pillows can be 
felt through the ticking. 

It takes three pounds of feathers for each pillow. 
New goose feathers cost about fifty cents a pound; add 
to this the cost of ticking and labor, and the price alone 
will help you to judge the quality of a pillow. 

Silk floss is not recommended for pillows as the 
floss has a tendency to separate, which is overcome in 
mattresses by the tufting process. 

Cedar Chests — While cedar lined chests are not 
8 



ii4 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

exactly bedroom articles, they are most suitable to 

that room, although a pretty chest is an adornment 

to an} room. Aside from its attractiveness, the cedar 

st should be in every home, because it will protect 

-. . furs that are placed therein from the 

moth. If a moth is hatched or is locked up with a 

E u. however, it may live and thrive, but those on 

- le will not bother the cedar. Moth eggs are 

nail and hard I ct and unless due precaution 

is taken they may be locked up with the article in 

•': they have been dep - 

In c aring prices of cedar chests, examine the 

thickness of the stock used, also the construction. 

valet, chifforobe, or gen- 
aen's chiffonier, is an article that is almost indis- 
sable in a e closet room is limited. 

TK , e many styles thes« rices vary accord- 

. s and make of the article. The ma- 
lty are high price - they are usually made from 
G very nice inexpensive cr.es n 
E had. They contain a large compartment for hang- 
5j besides a larg* Irawer for shirts, c rs 
shoes, and other garments. Shaving mirrors, and um- 
brella and whisk broom racks are also fastenc 
. rior of some. 



CHAPTER X 

Library — Modem Finishes — Library settings can be 
made of odd pieces or may be had in complete suites 
to match. If odd pieces are assembled, it is wise to se- 
lect the plainer goods, such as colonial type furniture, 
as there is nothing more easily matched than colonial 
pieces. 

The principal woods used in the construction of li- 
brary furniture are golden, fumed, or early English 
finished oak, and mahogany, either in imitation or 
solid, in the dull finish. Fumed oak finish is becoming 
more popular for library furniture, because of the 
hard usage it will endure. 

Library Chairs and Rockers — Large, easy rockers 
and chairs are very proper in this room and owing to 
the fact that these pieces get very hard wear, the 
purchaser should scrutinize carefully the grade of 
leather used in the chairs, and be sure that it is of su- 
perior quality. 

Chairs with large plain seats and backs and no 
tufting are the only ones considered by those who 
wish to avoid extra dusting. Loose cushion effect, 
such as loose cushion seat with a loose portable back, 
is very much used. Platform rocking chairs which 
rock on a platform or on an under separate base, are 
recommended in heavy chairs. These are very com- 

115 



n6 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

fortable, as they are regulated by the spring adjust- 
ment and can be adjusted to tilt or conform with the 
weight of the person who uses the chair. 

Library Couches — Leather couches, finished in 
golden oak or mahogany, are sometimes used in li- 
braries of large size. To get a couch that is really 
comfortable, one should select one that is well up- 
holstered and has deep springs, well tied, with a 
heavy layer of hair and tow under the leather or up- 
holstering, and with the tufts far apart. The small 
tufts are firmer, consequently not so soft. If a couch 
with a frame of an arts and crafts design is used, the 
plain leather cushions filled with felted cotton should 
be selected. Occasionally these have nothing beneath 
the cushions but slats, which make a rather solid couch. 

Other arts and crafts couches have full automobile 
spring cushions, which are more in demand and are 
more practical than the felted cushions. If these are 
supplied with good crucible springs there is no reason 
why they should sag. 

In the library a box couch is practical. One that 
has a spring top for regular couch service, and which 
has a roomy box beneath, to be used to contain gar- 
ments, etc., is preferable. These are recommended for 
those who lack closet room, and they can be used in 
any room in the house. 

Library Tables — Library tables are of all styles. 
Some have convenient magazine and book racks at 
the end and others have the large under shelf to con- 
tain the books, while some have both of these features. 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 117 

One of the greatest improvements of recent years 
is the library table with the pull-out drawer desk. 
Such a table has many advantages ; one is, that a 
drawer may be pulled out which has a lid upon which 
one may write without molesting the table lamp or 
books, or whatever may be on the table. The large 
drawer for the writing materials, etc., is accessible 
by simply raising the lid. 

The metal glides or shoes for the bottom of library 
tables are more practical than casters, particularly 
where there are children, as the tables will not be so 
easily pushed about, thus sometimes avoiding a broken 
lamp or something even more valuable. 

Bookcases — The old-fashioned bookcase, known as 
the combination bookcase, with the writing desk in 
connection and at one side, is practically out of use, 
the desk tables having solved the desk need, and the 
regular wall case or sectional case is used for the 
bookcase. 

There are many makes of sectional bookcases on 
the market and these are rapidly taking the place of 
the wall or shelf cases because they economize space. 
They are very practical, as enough cases can be ob- 
tained to contain the desired number of books, and 
as the library increases more cases can be added. They 
can be fitted with a desk which serves a better pur- 
pose than the combination bookcase desk, on account 
of the valuable length of the sectional units. These 
cases are easily handled and each section may be 
transferred to any part of the house without removing 



n8 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

the books. This feature has been the means of saving 
several valuable libraries in time of lire. 

The most important thing to consider in buying 
sectional bookcases is whether or not the factory will 
continue to manufacture the case. It would not be 
economy to purchase a case, even at a low price, if, 
when one wanted to enlarge the library, a duplicate 
case could not be obtained. The next consideration 
is the construction. See that the doors slide perfectly 
free, and that the case is dust-proof, as these are very 
important. Examine the backs of the cases and the 
ends to be sure that they will hold up under the 
weight of the books to be placed in them, as it is this 
strain which will soon expose a cheaply constructed 
case. 

The bookcase is a necessary accessory to the library, 
as without it valuable books would soon fall to pieces. 
The triple and double glass door cases are extensively 
used, as are also the single glass door cases. In a 
double or triple case, it is well to have a partition from 
the bottom to the top, between the doors. When 
loaded with books, these partitions help to reinforce 
the cases. The shelves will not be so apt to sag when 
loaded with books, as where they run entirely across 
the case. See that the doors are dust-proof, by lap- 
ping over the center posts or over each other, and that 
they have good locks and hinges. Many bookcases 
have guides on the doors to prevent them from being 
opened too far and causing the hinges to break. 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 119 

In long bookcases it is necessary to have an extra 
leg support under the center, owing to the great 
weight and strain they are subject to, thus preventing 
the case from sagging. 



CHAFTER XI 

issed 01 . parlor 

rarnitui . . as . er thing in g I taste tends tc 

an I re su -..:.... line - Self ct artistic 

[>n ma; g g ien 

three-piece ] r s te with a few eces 

tc fill s as comer and Roman or odd chairs, 

suggeste - with a lamp 

or electric gas portable still hole- ts 

The pri . r in mil iirnishing rlor. 

is that the furniti re 5 Mild have strength as weD as 
By lift ig a piece I r 01 

tilting it back and g at the under construct] 

- post con::. s, as previously set forth, may be 

tested or examined. Turned posts used in chairs and 
settees must of necessity be firm, c ng the weig I 

Examine 2 spring < 
well as the covering of the seats. Instead of leather, 
and tapestry cc- . . gs are stry used 
- room. 

He. — Open halls • st 5 are popular in 

lies. In fui s _ the small hall .v will 

gest the 1 tree, with the umbrella r 

x in the ise r rubbers, the ug glass and 
the h ks ; . - hangis > i gai ents. The ha 

ngs a se Lrate seal un- 

tning the popular thing. This seat usu- 

t2C 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 121 

ally has a lid over the box compartment for the rub- 
bers. The great advantage of the two separate pieces 
is that the lower part may be moved without so much 
risk of breaking the mirror. Moreover, the mirror 
may be hung at a more convenient place than imme- 
diately over the seat. Hall furniture may be had in 
all finishes. 

There is also the beautiful colonial console table 
with a panel wood or mirror back, with a large mir- 
ror hanging independently, but close above, thus giv- 
ing the appearance of a one-piece article. 

Full length mirrors with hooks at either side are 
practical. 

Den — Dens have wedged their way into popularity 
and almost every modern house has one. They are 
usually furnished in mission, early English, or arts 
and crafts, and sometimes in oak or mahogany. Some 
dens are very roomy and are fitted up beautifully. 
The decorations, however, produce the desired effect, 
as without the artistic rugs, smoking tables, pipe 
racks, pennants, etc., this room would be lacking. 

Many dens contain regular office desks, usually of 
a flat top type, with glass tops. The "sanitary" desks 
with drawers high from the floor are very good from 
a sanitary standpoint, and are attractive. There are 
many styles of these. The built up or sectional desk 
is fast growing into favor, as one may buy just what 
meets the requirements. 

The regular library table is often used, particularly 
the table with a pull-out desk arrangement, such as 



122 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

is explained under library furniture. The swivel of- 
fice chair, which turns at the base, with a medium 
high, or extremely high back, is also a very practical 
addition to the den. Such a chair must have a good 
spring and adjustment under the seat, to withstand 
the continual strain that is put upon it. A drop or 
two of oil occasionally will do much toward prolonging 
the life of the spring in one of these chairs. Self-re- 
taining casters or the gliding metal shoe for the bottom 
of the legs of the chairs and desk are also recom- 
mended. 

An office chair with a solid wood seat will give long 
service and will not cost excessively. To prevent the 
clothing from becoming shiny from the use of such a 
chair, a light-weight cushion will be found useful. 

For long service, the chair seat should be reinforced 
by a wooden strip or apron, fastened by screws to the 
bottom and running around the edge of the chair seat. 

Short chair arms, i. e., short from the back of the 
chair to the front of the arm, will be found prac- 
tical when desiring to draw the chair close to the table, 
and will prove more comfortable. 

Lounges, davenports, sanitary couches, and Morris 
chairs, provided with fancy covers to carry out the 
color scheme, are also used in the rooms. 

The cellarette, for soft drinks, smoking articles, etc., 
is often used in a bachelor's den. These contain up- 
per and lower compartments, with an enclosed humi- 
dor for cigars and tobaccos, also wine glasses and 
decanters, all compact, ready for service. 



CHAPTER XII 

Sewing Room — The sewing room is an important 
room and should be furnished so as to make every- 
thing in the room as convenient as possible. 

Sewing rockers with low arms or none, with com- 
fortable seats and backs may be had. Some with small 
work trays that turn under and pull out from the seat, 
are also used, as the sewing tools can be stored here 
when not in use. Low sewing screens, with small 
compartments for the tools, are also convenient. 

Sewing tables, substantially built, which can be 
folded, are a convenience for cutting materials, and 
some prefer them to the old-fashioned lap board. 
Heavier wood sewing tables, with heavy pedestal or 
four-leg bases, are very much in demand. They have 
the drop leaves which can be raised to make the tops 
larger, besides containing compartments for sewing, 
and drawers partitioned for thread, needles, cushion, 
and other working tools to help concentrate the work 
for the seamstress. Many beautiful designs in willow 
or reed baskets may be had at a small cost. 

Sezving Machines — In selecting a sewing machine, 
one must bear in mind that the investment should be 
considered as carefully as any other, as it is for a life- 
time and the price should be the last thing considered. 
A low-priced machine will do fairly good work for a 
time, but as the best is the cheapest, by paying a 

123 



124 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

little more at the start, a high-grade machine which 
will have a lifelong guaranty can be obtained. This 
being the case, examine carefully the merits of a ma- 
chine. Many sewing machines are being used as 
premiums. The claims for these machines are usu- 
ally very misleading. Such machines really have but 
small value, for they are as a rule manufactured under 
contract, to 1 E s I I at a low price, and their sewing 
qualities are not equal to the better grades of ma- 
chines. They are manufactured to meet a certain 
competition, and to be used to undersell competitors, 
-es are not manufacturers and the only in- 
terest taken in the sewing machine they sell is to real- 
ize their profit and to have the machine to sew. for a 
time, at least. Purchasers of such machines little 
realize that the time will soon come when repairs will 
be needed. When it does, t u ->n mill ~or 

the - It will be to one's advantage to 

pay a little more and get a sewing machine which has 
quality in every part, one which is backed by a reli- 
able manufacturer with a world-wide reputation for 
reliability. wh< sc guaranty on his product never ex- 
pires. Many machines are made with fancy wood- 
work, etc, but remember that what is wanted is ma- 
ery, not woodwork. 
There are many ways in which sewing machines can 
be cheapened and the average purchaser cannot de- 
tect it. Using stamped working parts, instead of 
hand-finished milled steel is one way oi cheapening, 
and unless a purchaser is careful, a machine with very 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 125 

inferior construction can be demonstrated in such a 
fashion as to appear as good as the best, and time only 
will prove it to be inferior. Before purchasing a ma- 
chine, decide on the kind of stitch wanted, whether 
the chain stitch or single thread, or the lock stitch or 
double thread. If the lock stitch is decided upon, 
then choose the mechanism, embodying the vibrating 
shuttle or the rotary shuttle principle. 

Needles — There is no economy in buying inferior 
needles, as the difference in cost is more than offset by 
the saving of trouble, annoyance and damage to the 
machine. Poor needles are made of the cheapest ma- 
terial and are badly tempered and poorly finished ; 
therefore, needles of inferior quality should not be used 
on any machine. First-class needles are made of the 
highest quality of steel and great care is exercised in 
having them properly tempered and finely finished. 
The eye of a well finished needle must necessarily be 
polished so that the thread will pass through smoothly ; 
otherwise the thread frequently breaks. Badly tem- 
pered needles, or those made of cheap material, bend or 
break easily when passing through heavy material, and 
in most all cases make fine grooves in the throst plate 
of the machine which constantly cut out the thread, 
causing the impression that the shuttle or its tention 
is defective. Poor needles are also often responsible 
for skipping or dropping stitches. 

Electric power is being used also in the sewing-room 
and by attaching a motor many machines are run by 
electricity, thus doing away with foot power. 



CHAPTER XIII 

Porches — Years ago discarded furniture saw its last 
days on the porch, or under the trees. Ten years ago 
there were probably four or five lines of summer goods 
to be had, while now there are about twenty lines, due 
to the fact that there is a growing tendency to out- 
door life. 

Today in the modern home, the porch is almost as 
much a part of the house as the parlor or living-room, 
and complete suites are shown in reed, rattan, willow, 
grass, fibre, hickory, or cedar. These suites comprise 
chairs, rockers, settees, couches, swinging chair or 
hammock, table, magazine rack and often a tea wagon, 
all in the same material, design and finish. 

Sun Parlor — Another feature of the modern home is 
the sun parlor. The sun parlor suite is similar to the 
porch suite with the addition of upholstery in fancy 
tinted cretons or other fabrics. 

Mission Porch Furniture — Too much cannot be said 
of the valuable mission furniture which is used for 
porches, the best and most substantial being the kind 
that is thoroughly bolted together, having no nails, 
the swings being hung with extra heavy chains. This 
kind will last a lifetime, with ordinary care. Much 
light weight mission furniture is made with thin ma- 
terial and light nails and will serve its purpose for a 

126 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 127 

short time, but the weather and hard usage will soon 
wear it loose. 

Summer Furniture — Summer furniture should be 
made exceptionally well to stand the weather. Usually 
the more hand work required on a chair, the more ex- 
pensive it is. In examining such an article, see that 
the under parts are well wrapped as well as the upper 
parts. The many braces under such chairs, . running 
diagonally across from one post to another, add ma- 
terially to the strength of the chairs, and if these 
braces are securely wrapped with the material they 
will be of more strength, as well as more attractive. 
Rocker runners should be examined. 

Metal chair tips that cover the ends of the posts of 
straight leg chairs and settees will protect the ends of 
the posts from splitting, and in case the chair legs are 
wrapped with the material of the chair it will help to 
hold the ends of the wrappings from breaking loose 
and unwrapping. 

Rustic furniture is very good, but is liable to stretch 
if it becomes wet or is in long service. 

Painted reed or willow furniture has a heavy ap- 
pearance and the stain finish is needed to give the cool, 
refreshing appearance. 

Genuine shellac, while not as expensive as the col- 
ored finishes, is a great factor in the life of a piece 
of reed furniture. Many imitations of shellac or spe- 
cial preparations are also used, but most of them can 
be detected by pressing the finger or thumb nail against 
them, as they have a soft finish, and will change color, 



128 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

while genuine shellac is very hard, will stand washing 
and will not change color. The high-grade goods are 
usually shellaced, while the low grade are finished with 
imitations. 

Sleeping Porch — The sleeping porch must not be 
overlooked, as it also is changing the plans of the 
architect nationally, if not universally. Ordinary porch 
furniture can be used if desired, although regular 
suites of beds, chairs, and tables to match may be had. 
A combination which can be used for a bed at night 
and a couch during the day may be had, although 
single beds or bungalow beds are better, where space 
will permit. 

Folding cots with canvas tops attached are used 
extensively for sleeping porches or for use in the 
open. They have drop sides of mosquito bar and small 
curtains that lower to protect the sleeper from bad 
weather. Canvas houses having partitioned rooms 
are something recently put on the market to take the 
place of tents. 

Many use the practical window tent and other sleep- 
ing apparatus to good advantage where a sleeping 
porch is not accessible. Those who sleep in this man- 
ner derive much benefit from the fresh air, but they 
usually pile on so many bed clothes to keep warm that 
the weight is too great to attain the required rest. 
There are, however, expensive bed clothes which are 
light in weight, that will furnish the necessary warmth. 
To those who can't afford these high-priced articles 
of comfort it is well to mention that there is on the 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 129 

market a very simple rack which can be adjusted to 
any bed from three feet six to four feet six inches in 
width, over which the bed clothes can be thrown and 
held securely in place by means of fasteners on each 
side of the rack, thus keeping the bed clothes over the 
body, and allowing a free circulation of air. A person 
may put on the covers as freely as he cares, but will 
not feel the slightest weight while sleeping, as he is 
under the rack and can turn and toss without any in- 
terference. This is particularly good and is recom- 
mended for people having rheumatism or who, from 
sickness or surgical operations, can not bear the weight 
of the covers, or for mothers with very young babies, 
as thus all danger of suffocating the babies is over- 
come. 



CHAPTER XIV 

Vacuum Cleaners — Vacuum cleaners have come to 
stay, but as a whole are crude, although most of them 
will do as represented for a time, at least. There is 
a great demand for a really good cleaner and the haste 
of manufacturers to get something on the market 
without first perfecting it has been the cause of many 
defects. In purchasing a vacuum cleaner it should not 
be forgotten that everything is made to sell and it is 
a very poor article that will not stand the test of a 
demonstration, at least. Unless a cleaner is a good 
one it is costly at any price. 

Hand Pozver Cleaners — Many kinds of hand vac- 
uum cleaners, such as suction pump cleaners, rotary 
cleaners, etc., are on the market. In hand vacuum 
cleaners the idea that is gaining the most headway 
seems to be the one resembling the carpet sweeper in 
appearance. These cleaners are constructed with a 
system of bellows, which develop a continuous suc- 
tion ; some have two bellows, some have three bellows 
— the more the better. There are many different mod- 
els, some being made in connection with a rotary brush, 
like that of a carpet sweeper, which seems to be a good 
feature. Ordinarily the more complicated an article is, 
the more difficult it is to keep in repair, so it is well to 
avoid complicated machinery. 

130 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 131 

The hand suction pump cleaner is not practical, al- 
though low priced. Such cleaners will not materially 
reduce labor, although they may reduce the dust to 
some extent. Unless a cleaner can lessen labor it does 
not do the most important thing for which it was 
intended. A logical conclusion is, that the hand power 
vacuum cleaner with the most powerful and regular 
suction, capable of being operated by the least num- 
ber of people and with the simplest construction all 
combined, is the one to purchase, regardless of first 
cost. 

Electric Pou'er Cleaners — Electric vacuum cleaners 
are also in their infancy and many improvements will 
be made upon them before they are perfected. Al- 
though several fairly good ones are made, none of 
them seems to last long enough for the money invested 
in them. Electric cleaners must of necessity be high 
priced, and it will be some time, no doubt, before an 
efficient electric cleaner will be on the market at a low 
price, because a good cleaner must first of all have 
a good motor, and a good electric motor itself is high 
priced ; again, it is not reasonable to believe that dust 
and electric motors will bear close relationship. 

Many of the most widely adveitised vacuum cleaner 
concerns have failed within recent years, due to the 
fact that either low-priced electric vacuum cleaners 
can not be guaranteed or that there has not been 
enough demand created for the high-priced machines 
to justify the advertising. 

Owing to the mechanical features of electric clean- 



132 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

ers, it has not been a safe investment for women, as 
few women know how to keep them adjusted, and 
the repairing of a cleaner is an abomination. 

Water Power Cleaner — A recent introduction is an 
arrangement that attaches to the water faucet, and by 
water suction the dirt is drawn out and forced into 
the sewer drain pipe. The simplicity of this apparatus 
makes it low priced and as it is not operated by a 
motor the idea seems to be the most practical yet in- 
troduced. 

Avoid Irresponsible Representatives — Be careful in 
purchasing a vacuum cleaner except from a responsi- 
ble concern or person, who will absolutely guarantee 
the machine to last at least a reasonable length of 
time. Do not buy of fly-by-night agents who get large 
commissions for selling such articles. Many people 
today who own vacuum cleaners, either electric or 
hand power, can not use them for the want of repairs. 
They don't know where to send for repairs, because 
they purchased the machine of some agent or irre- 
sponsible person, and no manufacturer's name appears 
on the machine. 

Carpet Szveepers — Probably one of the greatest in- 
ventions known, up to the time of the vacuum cleaner, 
to lessen the work of the housewife, is the carpet 
sweeper. Sweepers of today are made so light run- 
ning by the use of ball bearings, that there is little or 
no resistance. Rubber guards on the corners are also 
a great improvement over the braid guards, as they 
protect the walls and furniture. 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 133 

Every carpet sweeper has a removable brush and 
ordinarily, when the sweeper seems hard to run or 
doesn't seem to perform its duty, it will be found that 
the brush needs removing and the hair and strings 
that have gathered on the ends of the brush need to 
be cleaned away. Many sweepers have been sent to 
the repair shop, when nothing but the brush needed 
attention. Some brushes will wear out and yet the 
rest of the sweeper will be too good to throw away. 
Remove the brush and replace it, at slight cost, with 
a new one, and the sweeper will be nearly as good as 
new. Occasionally the rubber tires on the wheels can 
be replaced at little expense. A sweeper case and 
bearings will wear out a couple of brushes, if the 
sweeper has the proper care. 

Do not consider any agent who claims to be repre- 
senting the "repair department'' of a sweeper manu- 
facturer, as factories have no such representatives — 
furthermore, such agents' charges will be exorbitant. 



CHAPTER XV 

Home Building Pointers — When the interest on the 
investment, taxes, insurance and upkeep are fully con- 
sidered, it may be seen that home building is not more 
economical than renting, but as it is much more sat- 
isfactory and comfortable, the outlay of money is not 
usually considered. Often an elaborate house is built 
and when it comes time to furnish it, funds are found 
to be lacking. The furnishing of a home should be 
as carefully thought out as the plans for the house. 
It would be as poor policy to build a home with no 
idea of the furnishings, as it would be to buy the fur- 
niture and expect to build the house to contain it. 
These important points should go hand in hand. 

The question arises, what per cent of an amount 
spent for a house should be spent for the furnishings ? 
There is no iron-clad rule covering this point, but a 
logical conclusion is that at least one-fifth of the value 
of the house should be available for the furnishings, 
and from that amount up to one-half or three-fourths. 
The interior furnishings of many homes are some- 
times out of proportion with the exterior in that they 
are too costly. This shows as poor taste as does the 
other extreme. 

A person contemplating the building of a home will 
find many good ideas in the small booklets of bunga- 
lows, houses, etc., which are given away or are sold by 
architects. While the plans given may not exactly coin- 

134 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 135 

cide with the specific case, the many suggestions will 
amply pay for the small investment. 

Color scheme is another thing to be studied, as very 
few people know what colors should be used to pro- 
duce the most harmonious effect. Along this line, 
it is well to know that the large paint manufacturers 
issue booklets which they will gladly furnish gratis, 
on application, to those desiring such knowledge. 
Some of these booklets also furnish valuable infor- 
mation relative to treatment and care of floors. 

Do Not Invite Poor Service — A kindly considera- 
tion for others nearly always brings its reward. Time 
is the principal asset of the clerk who waits on you 
when you select your house furnishings. He makes 
his living by selling this time to his employer. The 
amount of his salary depends upon the way he em- 
ploys this time — the gross sales he can make — the 
profit into which he can convert his time to the benefit 
of his employer. 

By shopping without some definite idea of what is 
wanted, you waste the time of the clerk as well as your 
own time, and interfere directly with his earning 
power. You need not be surprised nor hurt if he re- 
ciprocates your thoughtlessness by selling you what 
he can, in the least possible time, and without very 
much consideration of your interests. 

If you start out with a reasonably clear conception 
of sizes, colors, qualities and styles, you effect a great 
saving in the time of the person who waits on you. 
The chances are that he will quickly recognize this 
fact and will co-operate with you to the best of his 



136 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

ability and to such an extent that you will be amply 
repaid for the study you have devoted to the matter. 

Take All Measurements — Take the measurements of 
all floors and stairways for rugs and carpets, all win- 
dows and doors for draperies and all windows for 
shades. Put in the diagram of each room its color 
scheme, to better enable the salesman to show what is 
wanted without unnecessary loss of time. Study loca- 
tions and spaces of the rooms to intelligently place the 
desired article of furniture. 

If you cannot take these measurements, it is ad- 
visable to notify the merchant with whom one ex- 
pects to deal, and he will send and have them taken, 
usually, without extra charge. If this is not possible, as 
in the case of the rural or suburban district, it would be 
well to engage a carpenter to do the measuring, even 
though a small charge be asked. 

For future telephone calls or other communication, 
it is well to learn the name of the salesman who waits 
upon you. 

Prepare a List — A house can be furnished at almost 
any cost desired, owing to the bountiful lines of goods 
to be had, varying from the very lowest priced to the 
most elegant and high priced. 

Many who have a limited amount of money with 
which to start housekeeping, go into a store with 
no idea of what they want or how far their money 
will go. After the work of selecting the goods is 
completed and the salesman gets the goods listed, they 
find they have a great deal more than they can pay 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 137 

for, or that they have omitted a desired article, and 
therefore find it necessary to cut off of the list some- 
thing just selected. This is often the case and this 
time can be saved if one will but use a carefully pre- 
pared list of what is w r anted. 

Those who are limited in funds and want to buy 
just what is needed until better settled or until more 
money is available, will find the following list very 
helpful. This list includes everything but heating 
stoves, bed clothes, pictures, cooking utensils and 
laundry tools, as these are usually provided beforehand. 

The first column to the left represents a "fair" 
grade of furniture. A lower grade than these prices 
represent may be had, but even this "fair" grade lacks 
quality, and if purchased, ought to be of good, sub- 
stantial oak, and not of some imitation or soft wood. 
If one can afford about what the next "intermediate" 
column represents, the grade will be substantially bet- 
ter, and so on into the "medium" grade, or from that 
up to a still higher grade, in which quality furniture 
will be much more in evidence. 

The "essentials" then, the first to be looked for, are 
in the left column, under three grades. Run down 
the list and it will be seen that everything listed is in- 
dispensable. After the essentials are selected, in about 
the grade one desires, and it is found that the list does 
not total as much as thought, glance over to the right 
side to the corresponding column, where the non- 
essentials are added, and pick out the most desired 
thing, as a buffet, dressing table, bookcase, davenport, 



138 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 



sewing machine, etc., and it will be easy to list the fur- 
niture. The total of this list will not vary a great deal 
from that of any regular furniture stock, and will save 
time and patience, as carefully selecting furniture is a 
task not courted by every one. 



ESSENTIALS. 




NONESSENTIALS 
ADDED. 




Inter- 






Inter- 




Fair 


mediate 


Medium 




Medium 


mediate 


Fair 








KITCHEN 








$15.00 


$25.00 


$45.00 


Cook stove 


$45.00 


$25.00 


$15.00 


.75 


3.00 


4.00 


Stool 


4.00 


3.00 


.75 


.70 


.70 


1.50 


12 shades 
Kitchen table with 


1.50 


.70 


.70 


1.75 


2.75 


3.75 


drawer 














Kitchen cabinet 


35.00 


25.00 


15.00 








Tireless cooker 


20.00 


12.00 


7.50 








Refrigerator 


25.00 


15.00 


8.50 








20 yds. linoleum 


30.00 


12.00 


10.00 








Chair 


3.00 


1.50 


.75 


$18.20 


$31.45 


$54.25 


$163.50 


$94.20 


$58.20 








DINING ROOM 








$12.00 


$25.00 


$35.00 


Table 8-ft. 


$35.00 


$25.00 


$12.00 


8.00 


18.00 


30.00 


6 chairs 


30.00 


18.00 


8.00 


10.00 


20.00 


30.00 


Rugrs 


30.00 


2(».oo 


10.00 


8.00 


15.00 


25.00 


Dishes 


25.00 


15.00 


8.00 


1.05 


2.25 


2.25 


3 shades 


2.25 


2.25 


1.05 


4.00 


8.00 


10.00 


2 pr. curtains 


10.00 


8.00 


4.00 








China cabinet 


35.00 


25.00 


16.00 








Buffet 


50.00 


35.00 


19.00 








Side table 


18.00 


12.00 


10.00 


$43.05 


$88.25 


$132.25 


$235.25 


$160.25 


$88.05 








BEDROOM 








$5.00 


$15.00 


$35.00 


Bed 


$35.00 


$15,00 


$5.00 


2.00 


5.00 


10.00 


Spring: 


10.00 


5.00 


2.00 


3.00 


8.00 


15.00 


Mattress 


15.00 


8.00 


3.00 


1.75 


3.00 


5.00 


Pillows 1 pr. 


5.00 


3.00 


1.75 


8.00 


15.00 


25.00 


Rugrs 


25.00 


15.00 


8.00 


.70 


.70 


1.50 


2 shades 


1.50 


.70 


.70 


4.00 


6.00 


10.00 


2 pr. curtains 


10.00 


6.00 


4.00 


10.00 


20.00 


35.00 


Dresser 


35.00 


20.00 


10.00 








Chiffonier 


30.00 


15.00 


6.00 








Dressing: table or ladies 














desk 


25.00 


15.00 


8.00 








Chair to match 


8.00 


5.00 


2.00 








Cedar Chest 


25.00 


15.00 


8.00 








Chair 


8.00 


5.00 


2.75 








Rocker 


9.00 


6.00 


3.50 








Costumer 


12.00 


8.00 


2.50 


$34.45 


$72.70 


$136.50 


$253.50 


$141.70 


$67.20 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 



J 39 



ESSENTIALS. 




NONESSENTIALS 
ADDED. 




Inter- 




Inter- 




Fair 


mediate Medium 




Medium 


mediate 


Fair 








LIVING ROOM 








$5.00 


$10.00 


$25.00 


Table 


$25.00 


$10.00 


$5.00 


3.00 


6.00 


15.00 


Rocker 


15.00 


6.00 


3.00 


5.00 


9.00 


20.00 


Rocker 


20.00 


9.00 


5.00 


15.00 


25.00 


35.00 


Rugs 


35.00 


25.00 


15.00 


1.05 


2.25 


2.25 


3 shades 


2.25 


2.25 


1.05 


4.00 


6.00 


lo.oo 


Draperies 


10.00 


6.00 


4.00 


5.00 


8.00 


15.00 


2 pr. curtains 


15.00 


800 


5.00 








Davenport 


50.00 


25.00 


18.00 








Stool 


9.00 


5.00 


3.50 








2 chairs 


20.00 


12.00 


7.00 


$38.05 


$66.25 


$122.25 


$201.25 


$108.25 


$56.50 




LIBRARY 










Couch 


$50.00 


$25.00 


$10.00 




Bookcase 


50.00 


25.00 


10.00 




Table 


35.00 


25.00 


9.00 




Rugs 


45.00 


30.00 


15.00 


These 


2 shades 


1.50 


1.50 


.70 


Draperies 


10.00 


8.00 


4.00 




% pr. curtains 


15.00 


8.00 


5.00 




Morris chair 


25.00 


12.00 


6.00 




Leather chair or 










rocker 


50.00 


30.00 


9.75 




$281.50 


$164.50 


$69.45 


Four 


SEWING ROOM 










Machine 


$45.00 


$25.00 


$20.00 




C haii- 


5.00 


3.00 


2.00 




Table 


5.00 


3.00 


1.00 




Cheval glass 


40.00 


25.00 


20.00 




Rug 


25.00 


12.00 


9.00 




2 Shades 


1.50 


1.50 


.70 


Rooms 


Curtains 3 pr. 


6.00 


4.0ii 


2.00 


$127.50 


$73.50 


$54.7C 




HALL 










Glass 


$15.00 


$7.00 


$3.00 




Seat 


15.00 


8.00 


3.00 




Umbrella stand 


5.00 


2.50 


.60 




Rug 


12.00 


6.00 


3.50 


are 


Shade 


.75 


.75 


.35 


Clock 


50.00 


25.00 


15.00 




$97.75 


$49.25 


$25.45 




DEN. 










Desk 


$45.00 


$25.00 


$10.00 




Chair (Swivel) 


15.00 


8.00 


5.00 


Luxuries 


Rugs 
Curtains 


25.00 
10.00 


15.00 
6.00 


6.00 
3.00 




Coach 


45 00 


25.00 


10.00 




Cellarette 


30.00 


20.00 


15.00 




Smoking cabinet 


25.00 


15.00 


8.00 




Stool 


9.00 


5.00 


3.00 




Chair 


12.00 


6.00 


4.00 








$216.00 


$125.00 


$64.00 



140 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

By totaling the above lists it will be seen by the left 
column that a person can buy a fair grade of furniture 
for four rooms for $133.75, an intermediate grade for 
$258.65, and a medium grade for $445.25 up to any 
amount, depending, of course, on the number of non- 
essentials one wishes to include in the list. 



CHAPTER XVI 

Carpets and Rugs — There is nothing in the home 
that needs as much thought by the layman and about 
which there is as little known as the buying of car- 
pets and rugs. It is a life study to acquire the many 
things which may be learned in this particular depart- 
ment of home furnishings. Occasionally a person will 
insist that he is better informed than the salesman. 
The fact of the matter is, that unless one goes to a 
perfectly reliable merchant to purchase what is re- 
quired, one may be miserably deceived in buying do- 
mestic and oriental floor coverings. 

In buying a carpet or rug, a person should know 
what is needed. Some insist upon quality, regardless 
of price ; others knowing that they cannot get the 
finer qualities at their price, are content with the 
more medium grades of carpetings. The wearing 
merit, however, is the most important factor and the 
first question usually is "What will wear the best?" 
Opinions vary somewhat on this point, as some claim 
that a high-grade Axminster will wear best, while 
others contend that a high-grade Wilton will give the 
best service. Either are practical, but more of the 
high-grade Wiltons are used, while in the more me- 
dium grades of carpetings, the Axminster leads. The 
long service of floor coverings varies greatly and de- 

141 



142 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

pends largely on the number of grown folks, chil- 
dren, cats and dogs that tread on them, which accounts 
for the poorer service some families may get from a 
carpet, while another family will have just the opposite 
experience. 

While service should be the first consideration in 
buying a rug, the pattern is one of the great factors 
in the carpet business. The average customer is 
guided in a great measure by his desire for a certain 
pattern, therefore "pattern" alone sells the majority 
of floor coverings, regardless of quality. For this 
reason, attractive patterns are found in the very low- 
est priced carpetings. Often a low-priced carpet is 
purchased because of its attractive pattern, when, had 
the buyer been informed as to the difference in qual- 
ity, a better grade of carpet might have been pur- 
chased. 

While it is not the plan of this book to go into de- 
tail relative to the manufacturing of floor coverings, 
there are a few terms used in the carpet business with 
which every purchaser should be more or less fa- 
miliar in order to intelligently buy his floor cover- 
ings. A few of the most important follow : 

"Woof, or weft," in most cases called "filling." 
These terms all mean the same and are most commonly 
spoken of in relation to an ingrain carpet. After an 
ingrain carpet is woven the above terms may also be 
called the surface, each thread or yarn of which, in 
weaving, has been thrown by a shuttle through the 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 143 

warp from right to left, which terminates at either 
selvage and then returned. The "selvage" is the edge 
of the cloth so closed by complicating the threads as 
to prevent raveling. 

The filling, as mentioned above, must of necessity 
have something to hold it together, which is called 
the "warp," or more ordinarily the "chain." The 
"chain" or "warp" is the threads which extend length- 
wise in the loom, and are crossed by the "woof," which 
holds the woof from pulling apart. When the chain 
of a carpet breaks or wears out, the carpet will pull 
apart, therefore a strong chain to a carpet is essential. 

"Textile" — A name used for any fabric woven in a 
loom. 

"Texture" — The manner of weaving a web or 
cloth. Disposition of the several parts of a body in 
connection with each other : filaments or fibers inter- 
woven, or the number of warp and filling threads to 
the inch. 

"Web" — The textile being woven as it comes from 
the loom. 

"Two-ply" — When spoken of in relation to an in- 
grain carpet designates the weight of the carpet, as 
being made of two plies, or webs. 

"Three-ply" — A three-ply carpet is one that is 
woven on an ingrain loom with three plies instead of 
two, but is not called an ingrain carpet. There is no 
such thing as a three-ply or a two-and-one-half-ply in- 
grain carpet, as an ingrain weave has but two plies. 



144 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

"Pick" — This relates to the thread of woof which is 
carried through the warp hy the "shuttle," an instru- 
ment used in weaving in connection with the loom. 

"Pile" — This term is often used, and is the long 
nap or woolly surface of a carpet. It is the same in 
carpets as in a piece of plush, which, when you rub 
your hand over it, changes the shade of the color. It 
is the "pile" that causes the different shades in the 
same carpet or rug. Cut a strip of velvet or Axmin- 
ster carpet into two pieces and reverse one piece so 
that the "pile" runs in opposite directions, and notice 
the difference in shade. When a carpet or rug is 
made from a roll of carpet and a border is placed 
around it, a slight difference in color will be noticed 
owing to the fact that the "pile" in one strip of the 
border runs in a direction opposite to that of the 
carpet. 

A long "pile" carpet usually has a prettier effect 
than a short "pile" carpet. For that reason an Ax- 
minster, or Moquette, or Savonnerie carpet has a 
softer appearance than a velvet, and velvet carpet has 
a better appearance than a Brussels carpet. 

"Wires" — Has the reader heard a dealer speak of an 
eight, nine, or ten wire tapestry Brussels rug, and did 
you know exactly what was meant? In the first place, 
tapestry Brussels carpetings are different from the 
velvet, in that the tapestry carpets have small loops 
all over the surface while the velvet carpetings have 
not. A velvet carpet is woven on the same kind of 
a loom as the Brussels, and has this additional dif- 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 145 

ference, that small wires which terminate in knife- 
like ends are inserted under each loop and when a vel- 
vet carpet is desired, the wires are withdrawn auto- 
matically to be reinserted until the carpet or rug is 
woven. These wires run from seven to ten to an 
inch, and when withdrawn from the Brussels carpet 
do not cut it, but leave the loops over the surface of 
the carpet. Therefore, in speaking- of an eight-wire 
tapestry, the quality is self-defined, in that there are 
eight of these rows of loops or "wires" to the inch, 
each row running across and not up and down on the 
carpet. When one speaks of a seven, nine, or ten-wire 
tapestry carpet, the same rule applies. The more the 
wires to an inch, the heavier will be the rug, conse- 
quently a tapestry or velvet rug or carpet advertised 
at a low price means nothing unless the number of 
wires are designated. 

As stated before, the process of weaving the velvet 
rug is the same as that employed in making the Brus- 
sels, but when the knife-like wires are withdrawn they 
cut the loops and make a "pile" rug, which is called 
a velvet rug. 

There are many grades of carpets on the market and 
the inexperienced can be easily confused. 

Printed Tapestry Brussels — "Printed" tapestry car- 
pets are an inferior grade. They are sold in many cases 
for the usual tapestry carpet and the layman fails to 
detect the difference. They are made by weaving yarn, 
undyed or of a uniform tone of color, on a tapestry 
loom. After the fabric is woven, it is placed on large 
10 



146 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

revolving drums. Large pattern rollers, with the de- 
sired design of carpet engraved on them, are put in 
contact with the face of the woven fabric which is on 
these large drums, and the pattern is printed by rotat- 
ing the drums and rollers, but one roller being used 
for each color. They are in this manner printed on 
the face of the carpets and through the fabric to the 
back. Therefore they are first woven and then the 
pattern is printed, as can be seen if close examination 
is made. 

Tapestry Brussels and Body Brussels and Velvets — 
The difference between the yarn of the best tapestry 
Brussels and a body Brussels or Wilton rug, is that in 
the tapestry rug the yarns are printed before weaving, 
while in body Brussels or Wilton carpets the yarns are 
dyed before weaving. By taking hold of a body Brus- 
sels or a Wilton velvet rug and turning it to see the 
back, one will see that the colors are woven through 
and show on the back, while they do not show through 
on the tapestry and cheaper velvet. This is the best 
way for the inexperienced to detect the higher grade 
carpetings. 

The body Brussels carpet is much better than the 
tapestry grades, in that it is made of a worsted yarn 
built upon a linen or lisle chain and a linen weft. 

The "Wilton" velvet is made the same, but the 
"pile" is usually longer than the loops of a Brussels, 
because the wires over which they are woven are usu- 
ally thicker. Also there are three shots of linen weft 
thread to each wire, while there are but two shots in 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 147 

the Brussels, which accounts for the difference in 
weight. 

Seldom more than six colors or "frames" are used 
in weaving these rugs and some run as low as four 
colors. The more the colors the heavier the rug. 
This doesn't mean that the colors all show on the top 
at once, as when the colors are not needed on the sur- 
face they are "planted" or buried and go to form the 
back of the rug. 

Plain Wiltons are cheaper because woven on an en- 
tirely different machine. 

Tapestry carpets are cheaper in that they have a 
"jute" stuff er yarn, a cotton chain, and a linen, jute or 
cotton weft, which acts as a binding thread for the 
wool or worsted loops. 

The best velvet carpets may also resemble the Wil- 
tons in having three shots of filling weft to each wire, 
where in the medium or lower grades only two shots 
are used, as can be detected by close examination. 

Qualities of Wilton rugs vary; some are half wool 
face, some are wool, others are half wool and half 
worsted, while others are one-third wool and two- 
thirds worsted and still others are all worsted. 

The difference between "woolen" and "worsted" 
fabrics is very hard to detect. The "woolen" threads 
are spun from short staple wool, while the "worsted" 
threads are spun from long staple wool and are harder 
twisted. Constant handling of carpetings is about the 
only way by which a person can become familiar with 
the different fabrics. 



148 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

A Poor Test — Forcibly pulling out the nap of carpet 
is not a fair test of the quality of the fabric, as any 
grade can be plucked out. 

Axminster, Moquette and Saronncrie Carpetings — 
Probably the carpet with the greatest sale today is the 
Axminster carpet. It is made of tufts of woolen yarn, 
woven by special machinery into the body of the 
fabric, after being inserted in the warp. 

"Moquette" carpets are now called Axminster car- 
pets. 

"Savonnerie" carpets are woven like Axminster 
carpets, but are heavier, and but few of them are now 
being used. 

The marked growth in the demand for Axminster 
rugs has forced competition in manufacturing and has 
thrown upon the market an inferior grade of goods. 
While called Axminster, in reality they contain as 
much jute (vegetable fibre), animal hair, etc., as wool, 
and unless one is a judge, these inferior grades may 
be selected for the rugs of the better grade. They are 
made in attractive patterns and until used on the floor 
awhile, cannot be detected from the best by the inex- 
perienced. 

One can usually detect the "jute" or inferior ma- 
terial in a rug by feeling of the fabric with the bare 
hand. The jute has a harsh feeling and by close in- 
spection will be seen in the nap or pile of the inex- 
pensive rug. It has a fibrous, wood-like resemblance. 
The better grades of Axminsters have a finer nap and 
a softer feeling. It pays to examine a rug at close 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 149 

range, to feel it, and then compare weight when com- 
paring prices. 

Also notice the back of an Axminster rug. The 
more closely it is woven the firmer it will be, and the 
better it will wear. 

Sweeping of Axminster Carpets — When sweeping 
Axminster carpetings, many people are surprised and 
alarmed at the lint which comes from them. This 
occurs as long as an Axminster carpet is on the floor, 
more, however, when the carpets are new than later 
on. This is not a defect in the carpet, as most people 
presume, but is due to the short clippings which set- 
tle and remain in the nap of the rugs after they are 
woven and clipped at the mill. 

Sizing of Rugs — When a rug is cleaned, it some- 
times loses its shape because the sizing or glue is 
beaten from off the back. To renew its shape have 
the rug "sized." The cost will be from seventy-five 
cents to one dollar for a rug measuring nine by twelve 
feet and will be worth five times the expense in the 
wearing qualities of the rug. Almost any store which 
handles floor coverings will size it. Sometimes it is 
necessary to send it to a carpet renovator to be sized. 

To size a rug, take it to an attic or some place 
where, after being stretched, it can be tacked face 
downward. Place the tacks from eight to twelve 
inches apart. Dissolve five cents' worth of fish glue 
(obtainable at any drug store) in one gallon of water. 
After the glue is thoroughly dissolved, sprinkle the rug 
generously, being careful with light weight rugs that 



150 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

the glue does not go through. Allow it to dry thor- 
oughly, requiring about twenty-four hours, after which 
the tacks may be removed and the rug will be ready 
for the floor. 

Moths — Moths can be prevented and exterminated 
by the use of benzine. A spray of some sort should 
be used and great care exercised, on account of the 
inflammable character of the liquid. 

Sprouting — When the surface of a carpet is pulled, 
say by a tack in some one's shoe, the strands of yarn 
are pulled to the surface and the long ends form what 
is known as a case of "sprouting." The finer the 
quality of yarn the more liable it is to occur, as the 
fine quality is soft and easily broken. The claw of a 
dog or cat, a nail in a shoe, a broken caster, or even 
hard sweeping with a stiff broom may cause "sprout- 
ing," and is not due in any way to the quality of the 
carpet. 

Smyrna Carpets — The Smyrna rug or carpet has 
been one of the best domestic grades known. It is 
practically obsolete, however, as the other grades of 
carpetings are taking its place. Competition, in a sense, 
has been the cause of its extermination, as it was 
imitated, in a manner, by a jute rug that has very 
much the same appearance, but is much lower in price. 

In the Smyrna carpets, the weft is dyed woolen yarn 
with a cotton warp, and has two faces owing to the 
wool yarn being on two sides. 

Ingrain Carpets — Most all carpets that are made 
on an ingrain loom are called ingrain carpets, and all 
materials are dyed before being woven. 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 151 

The most important ingrain carpets are : "Extra 
super," "cotton chain," and "union." 

The "extra super" is the most expensive and has 
an all-wool filling and an all-worsted or wool chain. 
The "cotton chain" carpet is the same, except the 
chain is cotton or lisle. The "union" carpet is one in 
which the filling and chain are cotton. 

The "pro-Brussels" is another grade that ranks 
in price with the "extra super" carpet and differs 
from it only in the process of weaving as it has a 
heavier filling and a chain of jute. 

The "granite" carpet is a low-priced carpet with a 
cotton filling and a part jute chain. 

Ail grades of ingrain carpets will come under one 
of these heads, although each mill may put on its own 
make of carpet a particular copyrighted name, and 
sometimes a fancy name on a carpet will help much 
toward the sale of it, which makes it very important 
to know a good carpet when it is seen. 

By unraveling the ends of carpets one can detect 
an all-wool carpet from a cotton filled one. The chain 
also can be examined. 

Points of Service — As before noted, a carpet with 
the strongest chain will wear longest; for that reason, 
the lisle or cotton chain carpet will give better service, 
but colors will not hold in a cotton chain carpet as 
well as in one of wool chain. An ingrain carpet a 
yard wide should have about ten hundred and eighty 
chain ends. They will vary from that down to seven 
or eight hundred. As stated before an all-wool car- 



152 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

pet advertised at a very low price means nothing 
unless the quality is mentioned. A carpet with hut 
seven hundred chain ends, all wool, would sell for 
much less than one with ten hundred and eighty ends. 
These things must be taken into consideration when 
comparing prices. 

It will be found that a wool or wool-filled carpet 
with the most white in it will contain more pure wool 
than the dark patterns. The carpets with dark pat- 
terns sometimes contain a lot of animal hair, which is 
mixed in and sold for all wool. 

An ingrain carpet should be thoroughly cleansed 
from oil. This cleansing of the yarn is the result of 
a perfect scouring process before it is woven at the 
mill. Many oily carpets are sold at a low price, but 
will give poor satisfaction, as they will hold the dirt 
and dust. However, those containing oil can, by close 
examination, be easily detected. 

Shrinking of Carpets — Ingrain carpet with a cot- 
ton chain is liable to shrink and should, if possible, be 
laid as soon as cut. A "union" carpet is, in this re- 
spect, worse than any other and will sometimes shrink 
a couple of feet in twelve hours and especially if the 
atmosphere is damp. Such a carpet should always be 
cut longer than the room or trouble will be experi- 
enced in laying it. 

Carpets Fading — Any carpet, regardless of its cost, 
will change color or shade. Nothing is made which 
will not fade. 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 



153 



Size of Room, 


Yards 36-inch 


Yards 27-inch 


Yards 27-inch 

Carpet, including 

Border, needed. 


feet. 


Carpet needed. 


Carpet needed. 


9x9 


9% 


12% 
14% 


17% 


9 xlo% 


11 


19% 


9 .xll% 


12 


16 


21 


9 xl2 


12% 


16% 


21% 


9 xl3 


13% 


18% 


24 


9 xl4 


uy 2 


19% 


25% 


9 xl5 


isy 2 


21 


27 


9 x\6V 2 


17 


23 


29% 


<J xl7% 


18% 


24% 


30% 


9 xl8 


\m 


25 


31% 


10 xlQ 


12% 


16 


21 


10 xl0% 


13 


16% 


21% 


10 xl2 


uy 2 


19 


24% 


io%xi3% 


19 


23% 


27% 
28% 


10 xl4% 


17% 


23 


10 xl5 


18% 


23% 


29 


10 xlbV 2 


20j| 


26 


32 


10 xl7 


21 


26% 


33 


11 xll 


15% 

16 3 4 
18% 


19% 


24% 


11 xl2 


21% 


26% 


11 xl3% 


23% 


29% 


11 xl5 


21 


26% 
273% 


32 


11 xl6 


22% 


33% 


11 xl8 


25 


31% 


37% 


12 xl2 


16% 


23% 


28% 


12 xuy 2 


18% 


26 


32 


1234x13% 


21% 


28% 


32% 


12%xl5 


23A 


31% 
28% 
30% 


35% 


12 xlS 


21 


34% 


12 xl6 


22% 


36% 


12 xl8 


255| 


34% 


40% 


13 xl3 


20% 


27A 


32 


13 xl5% 


24% 


32% 


37% 


13 xl6% 


26 


35 


40 


13 xl8 


28 


37% 


43 


14 xl4 


24% 


31 


37% 


14 xl5% 


27 


35% 


41 


14 xl7 


29 5-6 


38% 


44% 


IS xlS 


26% 


36% 


40% 


15 xl6% 


29 


40% 


44% 


IS xl7 


29 5-6 


41% 


45% 


IS xl9 


33% 


46% 


50% 
573% 


IS x22 


38^ 2 


53% 


16 xl6 


30% 


41 


45% 
50% 
553% 
65% 


16 xl8 


343/ 


46% 


16 x20 


38% 


51 


16 x24 


46 


61% 


17 xl7 


35i4 


47% 


51% 


17 X20 


41% 


55% 


59% 


17 X24 


49% 


55% 


70 


18 Xl8 


37% 


50 


57% 


18 X21 


43% 


58 


65^ 


18 x24 


SO 


66% 


74 


19 xl9 


43% 
51% 


56 


63% 


19 x23 


67 


7sy 2 


20 x20 


48% 


62% 


69% 


20 x22 


53% 


68% 


76% 


21 x21 


51 


68% 
753% 


77 


22 x22 


57% 


83 


24 x24 


66% 


91 


96 



154 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

The above table will be a great help to those want- 
ing carpets for their home. It is a table of different 
sized rooms and gives the number of yards of 36-inch 
carpet, 27-inch carpet, made plain without a border, 
also 27-inch carpet made with a border, which would 
be required to cover a room. 

If the size of the room is not given in this table, 
allow enough for the next larger size. In figuring 
the amount of carpet needed in fitting these rooms, 
the ordinary waste is included. Perhaps one will 
wonder why there should be a waste of carpet in 
matching the patterns. Patterns in the different style 
carpets do not match at exactly the same distance, 
some patterns being 30 inches apart, some 32, 34, or 
36 inches. In a room which measures 14 by 15 feet, 
one will readily see, by the table, that it requires five 
widths of 36-inch ingrain carpet, each width being 14 
feet long, to actually cover the room. The pattern 
will not match at 14 feet exactly, as it cuts at 14 feet 
and 9 inches, so to match the carpet, the strips must 
each be cut 14 feet and 9 inches. On five widths of 
carpet, one would be obliged to use 45 inches more 
carpet than is actually needed to cover the floor, and 
would be charged with the 1% yards of waste car- 
pet used in this matching. This waste in matching 
also applies to Brussels, velvet and Axminster car- 
pets as well as to ingrains. Should a room be 14 by 
14 feet, it will require five widths of ingrain carpet to 
cover the floor and there will be a strip of one foot on 
one full side that will either have to be turned under, 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 155 

or it can be cut off and used in matching at threshold, 
or saved to be used for patching. 

Notice that two rooms of different sizes will re- 
quire the same amount of carpet. A room 14 by 14 
will require as much ingrain carpet as a room that 
measures 15 by 14, due to the widths of the carpets 
and to the waste in matching. 

It often occurs that one will ask for 25 yards of 
carpet to cover a floor five yards square. Owing to 
matching of the figure, this size room may require 26 
or 27 yards, and consequently a 25-yard strip when 
matched would be found lacking and would necessitate 
another trip to the store for more caipet. 

Carpet Widths and Measurements — Most ingrain 
carpets are 36 inches wide. 

Most Brussels, velvet and Axminster carpets are 
only 27 inches wide ; while borders used in carpets are 
both 22y 2 and 2j inches wide. (The above list gives 
yardage when figuring on 22^-inch border only, as it 
is the most commonly used.) 

If a room is odd shaped, has a bay window, or an 
offset and the exact amount of carpet desired cannot be 
figured, the diagram of the room, giving all measure- 
ments, should be sent or taken to a reliable dealer. 

Caution should be exercised when measuring a 
room for a carpet which is to have a border. Be sure 
to measure each side of the room, as some rooms, 
especially in old houses, are an inch or so longer on 
one side than on the other and as a border carpet will 
not stretch it must be cut exactly to fit the room. 



156 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 



The price of a carpet, then, will vary as to the 
quality and price of goods used, whether with or with- 
out a border, and as to the size of the room. 

Selecting Carpets — It is best to select carpets before 
selecting wall coverings, as wall coverings are much 
more numerous, and can be selected to blend with al- 
most any carpet, while it is not so easy to select car- 
pets to match wall coverings. Select carpets in the 
daylight if possible. 

Color Blending Chart — The following color-blend- 
ing chart will be of assistance to those desiring to har- 
monize colors : 









COLOR-BLENDING I 


DHART 
















UJ 

_j 

CD 


z 

O 

a 


2 
< 

m 

cc 
O 


z 

UJ 

UJ 

cc 

o 


> 
< 

cc 
O 


o 

_i 

LlJ 
I 


z 
O 

o 

cc 
< 

2 


LU 

_l 

1- 

cc 

> 
5 


>- 
> 
< 

z 


UJ 

_i 
z 


UJ 

> 

_l 
O 


UJ 

O 
z 
< 

cc 
o 


o 

UJ 

cc 


z 
o 

< 

CO 


LU 

z> 
—I 
OB 

> 
en 


z 
< 


UJ 

z 


o 

—i 
_i 

UJ 

> 








BLUE 






G 


G 


S 


G 


B 


F 


F 


W 


B 


F 


S 


F 


F Iw 


G 


F 


S 


BROWN 


G 




G 


F 


F 


S 


W 


G 


G 


F 


G 


W 


W 


W 


G 


B 


W 


B 


CREAM 


G 


G 




G 


W 


G 


G 


G 


G 


G 


G 


G 


G 


G 


G 


W 


G 


W 


GREEN 


S 


F 


G 




G 


B 


F 


W 


F 


W 


W 


F 


S 


S 


B 


F 


F 


B 


GRAY 


G 


F 


W 


G 




G 


G 


G 


G 


G 


G 


G 


G 


G 


G 


B 


G 


F 


HELIO 


B 


S 


G 


B 


G 




B 


B 


B 


B 


B 


B 


B 


B 


W 


G 


B 


S 


MAROON 


F 


w 


G 


F 


G 


B 




F 


F 


B 


F 


B 


W 


B 


B 


F 


W 


S 


MYRTLE 


F 


G 


G 


W 


G 


B 


F 




G 


B 


W 


S 


F 


S 


B 


G 


F 


B 


NAVY 


W 


G 


G 


F 


G 


B 


F 


G 




B 


G 


S 


F 


S 


G 


G 


G 


S 


NILE 


B 


F 


G 


w 


G 


B 


B 


B 


B 




W 


B 


B 


F 


VV 


F 


B 


B 


OLIVE 


F 


G 


G 


W 


G 


B 


F 


W 


G 


W 




S 


B 


B 


B 


W 


W 


B 


ORANGE 


S 


W 


G 


F 


G 


B 


B 


S 


S 


B 


S 




W 


W 


B 


F 


B 


B 


RED 


F 


W 


G 


S 


G 


B 


W 


F 


F 


B 


B 


W 




W 


B 


G 


W 


S 


SALMON 


F 


W 


G 


s 


G 


B 


B 


S 


S 


F 


B 


W 


W 




F 


G 


B 


B 


SKY BLUE 


F 


G 


G 


B 


G 


W 


B 


B 


G 


W 


B 


B 


B 


F 




G 


B 


F 


TAN 


G 


B 


W 


F 


B 


G 


F 


G 


G 


F 


W 


F 


G 


G 


G 




G 


W 


WINE 


F 


W 


G 


F 


G 


B 


W 


F 


G 


B 


W 


B 


W 


B 


B 


G 




S 


YELLOW 


S 


B 


W 


B 


F 


S 


S 


B 


S 


B 


B 


B 


S 


B 


F 


W 


S 


— . 



KEY— B— Bad. 



W— Weak. 



F — Fair. 



G— Good. 



S — Strong. 



CHAPTER XVII 

Linoleums — This word is probably the most abused 
of all those given to floor coverings. It is pronounced 
incorrectly, viz : magnolia, meloleum, namoliam, 
naloeum, molian, and in various other ways. The ac- 
cent is on the second syllable, li-no'-le-um. 

Linoleum is oxidized linseed oil and ground cork, 
mixed to a plastic cement and applied with a heavy 
pressure to a prepared burlap backing. The impor- 
tant ingredient is the cork, which being full of minute 
air-cells, makes it a non-conductor of heat and cold. 

Linoleums are very easily cleaned and very service- 
able, and for this reason are growing in demand each 
day, and are being used in all rooms of the house. 

Different Grades — There are three general types of 
linoleums. There is the "plain'' linoleum, where the 
compound is applied in one solid color to the backing, 
and is left without any decoration, and the "printed" 
linoleum, which has the pattern printed in decorative 
colors on the surface of the plain goods, and can be 
bought for from forty-five cents to a dollar a square 
yard, owing to the quality. 

The "inlaid" linoleum is the best grade and is made 
in small patterns and matched together by special 
machinery, similar to tile flooring, hence the word 
inlay or inlaid linoleum. To detect inlaid linoleum, 

157 



158 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

examine the edge and it will be seen that each figure 
runs through to the back or burlap. 

Inlaid linoleum can be purchased for from $1.00 to 
$2.00 per square yard. As there are many grades on 
the market, it will necessitate an expenditure of about 
$1.50 per square yard to secure the quality that will 
give the best service. 

Seconds — What is known as "seconds" or damaged 
linoleum is sometimes sold by the mills at a discount, 
and it is upon these "seconds" that one sometimes 
sees attractive quotations. One must be guided by 
the fact that low prices, or price cutting, does not 
necessarily mean a lowering of the price of the stand- 
ard grade, as often these seemingly standard grades 
are but "seconds" or remnants. 

Linoleum Preservation — The surface of linoleums 
may be preserved to a great degree by applying some 
kind of a varnish preparation when the linoleum is 
newly laid, and repeating the operation about twice 
a year. 

Computing Yardage — Linoleum comes in rolls of 
about sixty square yards ; however, if the rolls are over 
two yards wide, the yardage is greater. They run in 
different widths from a yard to four yards, and as 
they are always figured and priced by the square yard, 
it is necessary to compute the surface to square yards, 
to determine the amount needed for a given floor. 
Many do not consider this fact and most salesmen 
overlook this point, consequently there is often a mis- 
understanding when the bill is rendered. 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 159 

Waste and Avoiding Seams — Any waste in cutting 
linoleum, due to an uneven or odd-shaped room, is 
charged to the buyer. As in matching carpet designs, 
the buyer is entitled to all waste pieces, and these may 
be used for door strips, on cellar steps, or for future 
patching. 

The advantage in buying linoleum four yards in 
width for rooms over two yards wide is apparent, as 
the seam in the middle of the floor can be avoided. 

Care of Linoleum — Before laying linoleum have the 
floor level, dry and free from nails, or it will soon 
wear through at the uneven edges of the flooring. If 
the floor has large open cracks, they may be filled with 
glue and chalk and allowed to harden before the lino- 
leum is laid. 

In hot weather, linoleum is liable to expand, caus- 
ing buckling or bumping. To overcome this, let the 
linoleum lay foi some time before tacking the edges. 

Floor paper, carpet felt, lining, etc., should not be 
put under linoleum when laying it. The linoleum 
keeps out the air, consequently in the case the paper 
or lining gets wet, as in scrubbing the floor, it cannot 
dry out, and soon rots and damages the linoleum. For 
this reason it is not policy to lay linoleum on freshly 
scrubbed floors ; let them dry thoroughly. 

In the present-day bungalows and houses such ma- 
terials as asphalt, cement, concrete, etc., are being used 
for floors. Before laying linoleum on such floors it is 
well to consult a first-class dealer and get any informa- 
tion needed regarding the treatment of the floors pre- 



160 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

paratory to the laying of the cover. If too much tar 
is used in the asphalt floor, it produces a soft effect 
and does not make a good foundation for linoleum. 

Linoleum should not be unrolled in cold weather 
without first warming it, as the surface may crack 
when cold. Have it thoroughly warmed by placing 
the roll over a register or near a stove for about twen- 
ty-four hours. 

In washing or scrubbing linoleum use onlv warm 
water and good soap. 

Inferior soaps usually contain acids or strong al- 
kali, and will destroy the surface ; and lye, ammonia, 
strong chemicals or powders will eventually counteract 
the oily ingredients which make the linoleum pliable. 

Avoid poor casters on furniture, as they are injuri- 
ous to the surface of linoleums, as are rough chair and 
table legs. Small metal chair furniture glides are rec- 
ommended for furniture which stands on linoleum- 
covered floors. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

Window Shades — Shade cloth is made of muslin or 
linen cloth rendered opaque by being heavily sized and 
stiffened. 

The lower grades are stiffened with clay, mixed 
with water, and pressed into the meshes of the cloth 
by passing through rollers. The better grades are 
stiffened with lead and oil. 

Holland shade cloth is made of linen, filled and stiff- 
ened with starch. 

Many kinds or brands of window shadings are on 
the market, and each carries a strong guaranty, but 
they consist mainly of those two qualities known as 
"water color" and "opaque oil" shades. 

The "water color" shade is inexpensive, and is made 
with water color on cheap cloth. These colors are not 
fast, and will run if they get wet, although with proper 
care they should last for years. 

The "opaque oil" shade is much the better quality, 
and about twice the price of the water color shades. 
The color in these shades will not run to any extent 
when wet, but unless the shade is removed from the 
brackets and stretched and dried it will lose its shape. 
Probably more of these shades are sold than any other 
grade, and they have been known to last for twenty- 
five years. 

161 

ii 



162 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

The Holland shade is very durable and is highly rec- 
ommended, although higher in price and more or less 
transparent, and to make a dark room in the day time 
necessitates another shade. 

While all shades may not have a filler, the paint is 
usually prepared in such a way as to act as a filler when 
applied. 

How to Detect Quality Goods — To detect the quality 
of shade cloth, it is necessary to examine the cloth be- 
fore the paint and filler is applied. This is impossible, 
usually, but the same result may be obtained by taking 
a small piece of the shade material, about two inches 
square, and holding it between the thumb and index 
fingers of each hand, rubbing briskly until the filling 
and paint falls out of the clofti. Then the threads of 
the cloth can be seen. The standard weight of hand- 
made cloth will contain fifty-six of these tiny threads 
to the inch, while most of the machine-made cloth is 
but forty-eight to the inch. The closer these threads 
are woven the better the shade should be. 

Shade Rollers — Shade rollers play an important part 
in window shades, and unless a shade is mounted on the 
best rollers constant trouble may be expected. The 
high-grade shades contain better rollers than are used 
for the cheap shades. The rollers alone in the best 
grade of shades cost nearly as much as the completed 
water color shade. 

There are many kinds of shade rollers on the mar- 
ket ; buy the best you can get and save money and pa- 
tience, as a poor roller is an abomination. 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 163 

Care of Windozc Shades — Window shades require 
attention if satisfactory service is expected of tliem. 
Tt is well to take them out of their brackets once a year 
at least and adjust the rollers, which in time become 
somewhat weakened by the constant strain. 

When a shade runs to one side and off of the roller 
at the end, it should be taken down and examined. Or- 
dinarily this is caused by the shade not being mounted 
squarely on the roller. 

If the roller seems too weak to roll the shade up, it 
can be remedied by pulling the shade down as far as it 
will go, and then getting on a ladder, taking the shade 
out of the brackets (while unrolled) and rolling up the 
shade by hand. After the shade is rolled up, put it back 
in the brackets and pull down the shade as usual and 
the spring in the roller will be found to be stronger. 

Another way is to take the shade from the brackets 
and tighten the roller spring with the fingers. 

Measuring Shades — In ordering and measuring 
shades, there are several things that must be desig- 
nated. Be sure to state whether the measure given is 
the width of the cloth or the width of the roller. Be 
very careful on this point, or the shades may not fit. 
Always give the length of the shade wanted when it is 
finished. For instance, if a window is seven feet long, 
it would necessitate a shade seven feet long when fin- 
ished, i. e., after the hem is completed at the bottom 
for the stick and a little extra allowed for at least one 
full turn around the roller at the top, to prevent the 
shade from pulling off of the roller. 



164 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

State whether the shade brackets are to be fastened 
inside the window casing or outside. Usually, the 
measure for a shade which is to be fastened on the cas- 
ing is taken from the center of the same on each side, 
and the brackets should be attached to the uppermost 
part of the window casing. 

When measuring shades, use an accurate tape line or 
an extension rule. 

If a duplex shade is wanted (that is, one color on 
the outside and another color for the inside of the 
house) be sure to designate which color is to be put on 
the outside, as it makes a difference in turning the hem 
at the bottom. Duplex shades are made that the out- 
side of the shades may match the color of the exterior 
of the house and the inside match the interior decora- 
tions. 

There is nothing in the whole line of house furnish- 
ings which people seem to dislike to pay so much as 
a window shade bill. When an estimate is received 
that amounts to $20 or $30 for the shading of a house, 
they invariably think the price exorbitant. 

The following price list will be a guide to those who 
desire to figure their own shade bill. While the price 
of window shades fluctuates somewhat, this list will be 
a fair estimate in the United States. The prices here 
given are figures on shades including the best rollers 
and hand-made opaque cloth, and include all solid col- 
ors except red and black, as these would have to be 
made special and would require a separate price, which 
can be had at any store that includes this department. 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

HAND-MADE OPAQUE SHADE LIST 
Excepting All Reds 



165 



■11 
</> 

'E 


WIDTH 


38" 


42" 


45" 


48" 


54" 


63" 


72" 


4 feet 


.50 
.60 


.80 

.90 


.85 

.95 


.95 

1.05 


1.10 

1.25 


1.40 
1.60 


1.90 
2.10 


5 feet 


c 


6 feet 


.65 


1.00 


1.05 


1.20 


1.40 


1.80 


2.35 




7 feet 


.75 


1.10 


1.15 


1.30 


1.55 


2.00 


2.60 


£ 


8 feet 


.80 


1.20 


1.25 


1.45 


1.70 


2.20 


2.85 


•0 


9 feet 


.85 


1.30 


1.45 


1.65 


1.95 


2.50 


3.20 


43 


10 feet 


1.00 


1.45 


1.60 


1.75 


2.10 


2.70 


3-45 


O 


11 feet 


1.10 


1.60 


1.70 


1.90 


2.25 


2.90 


3.70 


A 


12 feet 


1.20 


1.75 


1.85 


2.10 


2.50 


3.20 


4.00 


-J 


13 feet 


1.50 
1.60 


1.95 
2.10 


2.05 
2.20 


2.30 
2.40 


2.95 
3.10 


3.50 
3.70 


4.45 
4.70 


14 feet 




15 feet 


1.70 


2.25 


2.35 


2.70 


3.35 


4.00 


5.10 



To figure the price of a window shade from the 
above list, find at the top of the list the width of the 
shade needed, and run down this column to the line on 
which is the length in left column, thus finding the list 
price. For example : find the price of a shade forty-six 
inches wide and seven feet six inches long. As the 
forty-six-inch is not represented in the width at the top, 
take the next number higher, which is forty-eight 
inches. At the left, run down the first column for the 
length of the desired shade. To be accurate in figur- 
ing, it is well to take the next higher, which in this in- 
stance is eight feet. The price we find is $1.45. 

If the price on duplex shades is wanted, add about 
ten or fifteen per cent, to the price of the solid color 
shades. 

Holland shades are about the same price as the du- 
plex shades. 
12 



166 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

To get the price of the water color shades, take half 
the price of this list. Water color shades over thirty- 
eight inches in width are usually not to be had. 



CHAPTER XIX 

Oriental Rugs — No great attempt is made here to 
discuss the Oriental rug problem, as there are many 
books and histories which are very valuable to those 
who wish to familiarize themselves with this subject. 

The history of the Oriental rug is something that has 
never been fathomed, particularly in regard to the orig- 
inal makers. History makes little difference to some 
people, at least, and to them an Oriental rug is an 
Oriental rug. They can not tell which are the best 
grades, or where they are made. They attend the auc- 
tion sale of Oriental rug dealers and buy rugs under 
artificial lights, at almost any price, as these sales are 
usually hurried, and purchasers are forced to act 
quickly. 

Of all gold brick schemes, the Oriental rug business 
is the foremost. These rugs have been sold all over the 
world ; not because of their real value, but because of 
their fictitious history. The stock of two rugs may be 
very similar, but because one has an interesting story 
connected with it, it will bring four or five times as 
much as the one which has no story. 

Classifications — Oriental rugs are divided into five 
classes — Turkish, Persian, Caucasian, Turkestan and 
Indian. Under each of these divisions come the vari- 
ous makes which are so-called because of the location 

167 



168 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

of the places where they are made, and consequently 
one must give this branch of home furnishings careful 
study before buying, and then it is important to pur- 
chase of some one who is reliable. 

Pleasure Resort Purchases — Beware of Oriental 
rugs sold at pleasure resorts. If you want value re- 
ceived, it is not likely to be found there. In this con- 
nection it is well to relate just one instance that oc- 
curred while the writer was in the business. An ac- 
quaintance came in about Christmas time, bringing 
three mercerized couch covers of beautiful Oriental de- 
signs, size six by nine feet, and asked that they be sold 
for him. He was asked what he wanted for them, and 
he said he would sell the three for $100, just what he 
paid for them. It developed that he had purchased 
these at a pleasure resort and thought he was getting 
genuine Oriental rugs, and didn't discover his mistake 
until some time later. 

An inexperienced purchaser may be very easily 
taken in on a deal of this kind, especially when on a 
trip, where such things are found on sale. These couch 
covers, such as mentioned above, are made in this 
country and retail for $15 or $18 each. Novelties of 
any sort may bring fabulous prices anywhere, and es- 
pecially at pleasure resorts, but it makes no difference 
what you find for sale at these places it is pretty safe 
to say that the asked price is not represented by 
quality. 

Auction Sales — Good Oriental rugs are sent by col- 
lectors to this country in bales, each bale containing 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 169 

several good and several cheap ones. The bale is 
bought as a whole. The rugs are separated, and the 
best rugs sell for fancy prices, while the poorer grade 
rugs of the bale do not sell readily, consequently the 
"fake auction." This affords the quickest way of com- 
ing in contact with the inexperienced buyers, who 
think they are getting the real thing at a great bar- 
gain. 

The auctioneer usually has a couple of men with him 
to help to take care of the rugs when shipping and 
repacking, etc., as Oriental rugs are very heavy and 
hard to handle. The rugs are usually shown under 
bright lights, which show them off to the best advan- 
tage. While the auction is in progress some of these 
helpers are used as fake bidders, and when a really 
valuable rug is offered at a ridiculously low price one 
of these fake bidders buys it in. If one were to attend 
these sales several days in succession one would, no 
doubt, find the same rug sold several different times. 
It is turned back each time to be sold again. The rugs 
that are bought by the bona fide buyers turn out to be 
cheap goods procured at fancy prices. 

A Few Distinguishing Marks — The. value of an Ori- 
ental rug depends on its age, on the quality of mate- 
rial used, on the richness of colors, and the number of 
knots to the square inch and the design on the face of 
the rug. 

A real antique rug must be at least fifty years old, 
as modern rugs have no place in a collection, as far as 
value is concerned. Fifty years ago there were no ani- 



170 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

line dyes, which are used so much in Oriental rug mak- 
ing at present. Colors of mineral origin and aniline 
colors make in the business a fine profit for the seller, 
and the purchaser gets inferior grades. Under arti- 
ficial light it is hard to detect these dyes, and some- 
times, in the very best light, these colors can be de- 
tected only by looking in the white part of the rugs, 
where colors sometimes run. 

Vegetable dyes were used in early Oriental rug mak- 
ing, and this vegetable dye does not change its actual 
color, although it fades a little, while aniline dyes fade 
to different colors, sometimes one of the dyes that is 
used in a combination of colors entirely disappearing 
while others remain. 

A rug dyed by vegetable dye will cost ten or fifteen 
times as much as if it were dyed with aniline dye. 

A genuine Oriental rug shows its whole pattern and 
color in detail on the back. The pile is composed of 
rows of tied knots that can be detected by separating 
the pile. The sides have a narrow selvage or are over- 
cast with colored wool, while the ends have either a 
selvage or fringe or both. Oriental rugs are much 
heavier than domestic rugs, and if compactly woven, 
by taking hold of the center and pulling it up the rug 
will stand cone-shape without falling. See that the 
knots of the pile are well tied. If the wool of the pile 
is of the same color, near the knot, but of a deeper 
shade than it is at the surface, it is no doubt a veg- 
etable dye. 

In the inferior rugs one can detect the counterfeit 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 171 

by pulling out one of the threads, which will be found 
to be composed of two strands of cotton and one of 
wool, twisted together. 

Consult an Expert — It take's an expert to detect the 
genuine imported vegetable dyed rugs from the Amer- 
ican made, and imported aniline dyed rugs ; therefore, 
the most economical way for the inexperienced to buy 
Oriental rugs is to pay a small fee to such a person to 
make the desired selections. 



CHAPTER XX 

Fire Insurance — This is something that is, indeed, 
very important, although in most cases neglected, and 
especially so by the newly married, as insurance is 
something they least consider. Many a home, on which 
there was no insurance, has been burned out, leaving 
the occupants nothing with which to make a new start. 
For the slight expense incurred one can not afTord to 
be without insurance. 

An inventory booklet having blank pages for the 
listing of household furniture, wearing apparel, etc., 
and their value, can be obtained from almost any fire 
insurance agent. Carefully list with ink everything 
and its value. It is poor policy to exaggerate the value 
of these articles, as a fire settlement is made by ad- 
justers paid to do nothing else, whose broad expe- 
rience makes their judgment very keen as to values, 
and eliminates any chance of fraud on the part of the 
policy holder. Put the book with the insurance policy 
in a secure place, outside of the house if possible. It 
is advisable to have a duplicate at home in case one 
copy burns. If a fire occurs it will be the means of 
saving many dollars in adjusting a claim. 

In the event of a fire, do not move a thing, or clean 
up the debris until settlement is made with the insur- 
ance company, as the insured usually loses by not ad- 

172 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 173 

hering to this procedure. The writer had an experi- 
ence of this very kind and left the burned things un- 
touched for ten days or two weeks, and at a great in- 
convenience, before the adjuster called. After making 
the settlement the adjuster remarked that he paid the 
largest percentage of loss of his entire experience, and 
he had been in the adjusting business for many years. 
This satisfactory settlement was due to two facts — 
first, the things were left undisturbed, and second, 
there was an inventory of the goods in a safe outside 
of the house. 

Insurance on Leased Goods — If good are purchased 
on a credit plan, and a lease or mortgage held on them 
by another party, one is expected to pay for those 
goods, and consequently should carry insurance as well 
as taxes upon them. If there should be no insurance 
upon them and they should burn the person having the 
goods would lose doubly, as the burning of the goods 
would not cancel the debt. When buying insurance, if 
goods are on a lease and not fully paid for, it isn't nec- 
essary to inform the insurance companies of that fact, 
as there may be trouble in getting a settlement after a 
fire, although the insurance companies are very willing 
to take the money each year as a premium, and do not 
seem concerned when the policy is written whether the 
goods are obtained on a lease or otherwise. 

Understand Your Policy — A policy is seldom thor- 
oughly understood until after a fire, or until time of 
final settlement. Then, to one's surprise, it is some- 
times found that the policy does not cover as much as 



174 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

expected, and that the insurance company is not as 
willing to settle in full as was presumed at the time the 
insurance was written. Insurance companies never 
pay a total loss, as they justly figure that, from usage, 
there is a certain depreciation in value. 

When taking a policy, if not familiar with some of 
the terms, have them clearly explained. Keep a record 
of all insurance — when written, for how long, in what 
company or companies, and the time of its expiration. 
Do not let a minute slip by at time of expiration with- 
out renewing the policy, or having another to date 
from the same time, because that minute might be the 
time when a fire would occur. 

Be sure to carry insurance, as the cost is trifling 
when it is realized that a lire of a few hours can leave 
one without a single possession. 

Important Clauses — Notice what the policies say rel- 
ative to "additional insurance," "removal of property" 
and "gasoline permit," as these are very important. 

Standard Policy — The standard form of insurance 
policy most commonly used is that of the State of New 
York, although a great many of the States have their 
own standard forms, and these are the only ones per- 
mitted within those States, and vary slightly from the 
New York standard policy. 

One should be sure to obtain a copy of the policy 
under which one is insured, and study it carefully, as 
the time consumed may be time well spent, as would 
be demonstrated if a fire should occur. 

The following is an article taken from a mercantile 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 175 

paper, and is well worth reading, as the responsibilities 
and obligations of the insured are just as important in 
a home as in a business enterprise. 

The heading- of this article is, "Some Facts About 
Your Insurance Policy. Responsibilities and Obliga- 
tions of the Insured." 

"It is probably no exaggeration to say that not one 
man in ten knows what a fire insurance policy really is. 

"Nine men will say it is a promise by the insurance 
company to pay a certain agreed sum in case the in- 
sured property is damaged or destroyed by fire. 

"The tenth man knows differently. He has read his 
policies. He knows that he must comply with certain 
conditions in order to make his policy good. 

"He knows that if he fails to fulfil his part of the 
contract the insurance company can justly decline to 
pay his loss in case of a fire. Because — 

"An insurance policy is merely a contract, binding 
on both parties. The company agrees to pay up to a 
certain amount in case of a fire, but only in considera- 
tion of the insured performing certain acts himself. 

"It is quite important, then, that you read your pol- 
icy. It is hedged about with technicalities, and im- 
poses on you conditions which the courts have declared 
proper and legal. These conditions must be complied 
with, or the contract is at least voidable, if not void. 

"There are at least seven vital points on which mer- 
chants should be informed with regard to fire insur- 
ance. They follow : 

"1. Get Your Insurance Only Through a Record- 



176 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

ing Agent — A 'recording agent' is one authorized to 
sign, issue and register policies. His acts bind the 
company. The acts or declarations of a mere solicitor 
do not bind the company. Therefore see that your pol- 
icies are issued by a recording agent. 

"2. See That Your Policies Provide for Other Con- 
current Insurance — Every policy of standard form pro- 
hibits you from carrying other insurance than that 
specified in the policy, unless you are given express 
permission to do so. If you write more than one pol- 
icy, be careful to see that all of them provide that other 
insurance may be carried ; otherwise any loss you may 
sustain can be refused payment by the companies. 

"3. Do You Understand the ( 8o Per Cent.' Clause? — ■ 
This clause, for the use of which a reduced rate is 
given, means that you agree to carry insurance to the 
amount of at least 80 per cent, of the value of the 
stock. If you fail to do so, you are held to be your own 
insurer to the amount of the difference. As an ex- 
ample : 

"Suppose the value of your stock is $10,000. Under 
the 80 per cent, clause you agree to carry at least $8,000 
insurance. Suppose you really have only $5,000 insur- 
ance and suffer a $5,000 loss. You are short $3,000 in 
insurance, which is three-eighths of the amount you 
agreed to carry. Therefore, you must pay three- 
eighths of your own loss, and you can collect, not 
$5,000, but only five-eighths of $5,000, or $3,125. If 
the 80 per cent, clause is in your policies, see that it is 
fully complied with. 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 177 

"4. The 'Iron Safe' Clause — This provides that you 
must keep your books and your inventory in an iron 
safe at night. If it is in your policies, see that it is 
complied with. 

"5. The 'Three-Fourth Loss' Clause — If this clause 
is in your policies you can hold the companies only for 
three-fourths of whatever loss you may sustain. The 
object of this clause is to make you more careful in 
preventing a fire, by making you pay one-fourth of 
any loss you may sustain. 

"6. Gasoline Lighting Systems — Be particular to see 
that you have a special permit in every policy to use 
such lights, if you have this system. Every standard 
policy absolutely prohibits the generation of gas for 
illuminating purposes on the premises covered by the 
policy. Be equally careful with regard to the storage 
of benzine, kerosene, gasoline, etc. 

"7. Read Your Policies — Then Do as They Provide 
— Every provision of the standard fire insurance policy 
has been construed and upheld by the courts. Every 
word and every phrase in these policies has been the 
subject of some law suit. They have been declared 
reasonable and legal by the courts. They are no longer 
subject to dispute. Read your policies and see what 
you are required to do. Then do it. Otherwise you 
may be unable to collect for a loss. 

"Finally — Don't Have a Fire — Remember that at 
least half of the fires are caused by carelessness. Be 
careful. Keep your premises clean. 

"It is said that no less than half of the fires are pre- 



178 HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 

veritable. Most of them are caused by pure careless- 
ness. And every time there is a fire anywhere you 
help pay for it. The insurance companies don't pay 
the loss — they merely equalize it. 

"So, first of all, insure yourself against loss by fire, 
and then inform yourself on your contract, so you will 
be protected against the technicalities of the policy. 
Then help in the fight for better fire control." 

Leases — There are several things every one should 
know regarding the leasing of rented property, and 
the following information will be of value in placing 
them in position to enter into such a contract more in- 
telligently : 

"Leases" are written or oral agreements, or con- 
tracts, for the letting or holding of property for a 
time, for a consideration called "rent." 

The "landlord" is the one who leases the property 
to any other person called a "tenant" for a duration of 
"time," showing when the lease begins and when it 
ends. A lease gives no title to a piece of property, but 
gives the renter as much right as though he had full 
title to the property as long as his lease exists, or until 
it expires. 

If there is no clause to prohibit it, a lease may be 
transferred to another party, although such a clause is 
usually embodied in the lease, which also gives the 
landlord a better chance to decide whether he desires 
his tenants or not. 

The lease should cover in detail the parties inter- 
ested, the consideration, and the property to be leased, 



HOW TO BUY FURNITURE 179 

and all conditions as to who is to pay the water, heat 
and light rent, and any other special clauses, such as 
the subletting of property, showing of the property, 
and posting "to rent" signs, etc. If the tenant fails to 
pay rent or violates any part as set forth in the lease, 
the lease becomes void and the landlord has full right 
to get possession of the property. 

Every lease should be made in duplicate, and all par- 
ties concerned have a copy, which binds the landlord 
as well as the tenant, providing clauses were inserted 
for the upkeep or repairing of the property in any way. 

Property must be vacated by a tenant in as good 
shape as when leased, or he is liable for the damages ; 
however, an allowance must be made for the wear and 
tear. 

A tenant has a right to remove anything he has 
added to a house, providing he can do so without in- 
jury to the property. 

If a landlord agrees to make improvements and fails 
to do so, the tenant, after making a demand for the 
carrying out of the agreement, may pay for the work 
and deduct it from the rent. 

If the landlord desires the possession of a leased 
property at time of the expiration of the lease, he must 
give notice in writing, signed by himself or his lawful 
agent, and have it presented to the tenant at such time 
as the statute laws of that state require. 

If a lease is in force, it does not require re-signing 
each year to make it valid, unless there is a specified 
agreement to the effect that it must be signed yearly. 



JUN 21 1918 



^ 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




